How To Train Your Dragon 4: Defenders of the Hidden World
by mol10
Summary: Peace has reigned on Berk ever since the dragons returned to the Hidden World. But a new foe learnt the truth about them, and he is determined to use them to conquer the world, regardless of anything or anyone in his way. The job of protecting the dragons falls upon Hiccup and the Berkians. Can they stop him and save the dragons? (Canon-compliant, minor/major death, T for violence)
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction

Twenty years.

Twenty years have passed since the dragons left.

Ten years since he last saw his best friend.

Hiccup stood at the place where the dragons had departed to the Hidden World, lost in his thoughts. He appreciated having this much free time. The last two weeks have been filled with so many things that he barely had time to rest. There was the peace treaty signing with the Berserkers and the Outcasts, and by some coincidence both tribes decided to visit Berk within the same week. Each signing took up three days of his time, and each day was very draining for him. Dagur had brought Mala with him for the first day, and they had spent that day on a tour of Berk. In the wee hours of the morning on the second day however, a ship from Berserker Island had arrived. The messenger on the ship told Dagur that there was some urgent issue on Berserker Island, and Dagur had sent their new chieftess Mala back on that ship, leaving Dagur alone on New Berk with the Berserker elders. Dagur was obviously unhappy and stressed about the whole situation since he had to remain on Berk, and so he had called Hiccup to join him in hunting some wild animals in the forests, which took up the entire day and all of his energy. The third day required Hiccup to wake up early to negotiate the terms of the treaty and sign it, and then the Berserkers had left late in the night. Immediately the next day the Outcasts arrived. Unlike the Berserkers who visited often, this was the first time that the Outcasts visited, and so Hiccup had given them a tour of New Berk for the first two days, while the third was spent negotiating and signing the treaty. Once the Outcasts left however, there was an outbreak of eel pox, and Hiccup's 18-year-old daughter, Zephyr, was one of those affected, and Hiccup and Astrid had taken care of her day and night until the Berkians sent to fetch the ingredients for the cure returned. This left him with a huge backlog of work, which he spent every day doing to complete. Settling disputes, dealing with numerous contracts, signing papers…

This train of thought reminded Hiccup of the new tribe that wanted to sign a treaty.

Hiccup let out a sigh. He had to leave tomorrow if he wanted to reach the tribe by the stipulated date. This was the only time that he had to enjoy and he had allowed himself to think of all his work in the last two weeks.

The cool wind continued to blow through his auburn hair. He closed his eyes. Trying to distract himself from all his commitments, he let his mind wander back to the day that the dragons left New Berk on this very spot. He had realised that peace between humans and dragons was not possible at the moment, and he had made the painful decision to allow his best friend to leave to the Hidden World with his mate. He recalled the sadness in his heart as he removed Toothless' saddle for the last time. The pain visible in both his eyes and Toothless' eyes, but despite this they both understood why this had to be done. The Berkians had followed suit, removing the saddles from their respective dragons and allowing them to fly away freely. Hiccup recalled looking around at his tribe, all with sadness in their eyes as they said their final farewells, before Toothless and the Light Fury led the dragons away to the Hidden World.

Secretly though, he hoped that that was not the end, that one day all humans will be able to live in peace with the dragons, and when that time comes, he will return to the Hidden World to call Toothless and the dragons to return to Berk, or rather New Berk. His people will then be able to live their lives like how it was for six years, and their children will finally be able to know the dragons and enjoy their lives with the dragons by their side.

Hiccup's thoughts returned to the present. The dragons had left twenty years ago. Time has really flown by since then. He has been preoccupied with building New Berk, and tending to the needs of the villagers. After that, he had been preoccupied with his chiefing duties to think about the dragons returning. Away from his chiefing duties, his personal life has been great. He had married Astrid a few months later, and had Zephyr about a year and a half later. Just two years later, Nuffink was born. Six years after that, they went to visit Toothless and the dragons at the Hidden World. The thrill of being back on Toothless' back came back to his memories, and he smiled at the recollection. The feeling of the wind blowing through his hair, with his kids in front of him smiling and laughing along with him helped to calm him down and made him happy.

All this felt like yesterday, yet it has already been ten years since then. Zephyr is already 18 years old, and is betrothed to Smitelout, the 18-year-old son of Snotlout and Minden, who married about a year after Hiccup and Astrid. With the dragons gone, the Wingmaidens had settled in Berk, and Snotlout and Minden had married shortly after Hiccup and Astrid. Nuffink is turning 16, and has yet to get together with someone. Hiccup did notice that he did seem to take a liking to Erica, the daughter of Fishlegs and Heather. Fishlegs and Heather married about two years after Hiccup and Astrid. Heather moved to Berk, while Dagur had stayed on Berserker Island. With their Great Protector gone, the Defenders of the Wing had moved to Berserker Island as well. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were still their typical, prank-loving selves. Ruff was dating Eret for a while, but eventually Ruff chose to stick by Tuff's side for the rest of their lives, and Eret had accepted her decision. They remained as close friends, and to this day they still hang out and chat as though they were still together.

Hiccup looked up at the sky, trying to estimate the time. He guessed that he has been sitting here for about two hours lost in his thoughts. With a smile, he let out a contented sigh. He really needed this moment. 'But all good things come to an early end,' he thought to himself. He had to wake up early tomorrow to leave for the peace treaty signing. With this, he rose to leave for home.


	2. Chapter 2: The Founders Tribe

**A/N: Hi guys, first ever story. I hope y'all enjoy it! Anyways, there are quite a lot of pre-written chapters, about halfway through the story. I'm going to upload one chapter a week, and hopefully it gives me enough time to finish the story in time. I'm only uploading the first two because there isn't any action in the first chapter. Thanks for reading! (reposted chapter 2 for the author's note)**

Chapter 2: The Founders Tribe

"So… what exactly is this tribe?" Snotlout asked.

"Honestly, I don't really know. They just appeared with a messenger and asked us if we would accept a treaty with them. Besides their name, location, and navigation instructions they really didn't tell us anything," Hiccup explained. Snotlout gave Hiccup a quizzical look, clearly upset at the lack of information provided.

Hiccup understood how he felt. He had felt the same way when the messenger provided the message. The messenger - Rallen the Remarkable - had showed up to Berk's shores one morning carrying a scroll from the chief of the Founders Tribe. Much to his surprise, the chief was a female, and while Hiccup did not have anything against this, it was uncommon among Vikings to have a female chief. The scroll mentioned that her name was Kari, and the Founders Tribe was towards the south east of Berk, which meant that this tribe was outside the Barbaric Archipelago - just like New Berk. The scroll was a formal request for a peace treaty signing, and being the adventurous yet peace-loving Hiccup was known to be, he had agreed to head to their tribe to sign the treaty. The travel time by ship was two weeks, and Hiccup had brought along some of the elders of Berk and his ex-dragon riding friends as well as Eret and Gobber along, all of which currently made up the council of Berk. He often wondered if allowing the twins to be part of the council was a good idea, but then again, they seemed to be providing some sort of contribution, although these contributions only appeared once every two months. Being the heir, he had also brought along Zephyr and her betrothed. Nuffink had insisted to come along too, and although Hiccup was not willing to do so initially, after much persuasion and stubbornness from Nuffink that seemed to be inherited from Hiccup himself, he had relented and allowed him to come.

"Hiccup? Are you okay?" A soft, gentle voice filled with concern pulled him out of his thoughts. This voice belonged to none other than the love of his life, the girl he has had a crush on for as long as he could remember, and his current wife, and the mother of his two beautiful children. Astrid Hoffer- Haddock. Gods how he loved that.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just thinking about this unknown tribe. I really wish they provided more information," Hiccup said.

"Me too, but there shouldn't be any problems. If anything goes wrong, we can get out of this together, even though we don't have our dragons."

Hiccup smiled. It was always nice having Astrid by his side. And they had each other's company for the next two weeks, with barely any distractions. This was going to be a relaxing trip.

Two weeks later, their destination was in sight. The island was luscious, filled with greenery as far as the eye could see. Trees grew among the paths and houses, and smaller plants and flowers were grown in wooden boxes along the pathways that led to the docks. In the front of the village was an unnaturally gigantic tree with vines hanging down from the leaves. A small path led to the middle of the tree just below the dense leaves, where a little wooden platform surrounded the trunk of the tree. Handrails were placed by the edges of the platform, and on one side under a shelter there were tables and chairs facing towards an open area. Many benches lay in the open area, presumably for the people to sit on during a tribe meeting. The twins could hardly contain their delight at seeing this. Chants of "Treehouse!" echoed on Hiccup's ship for a good ten minutes, and when Hiccup finally had enough and told them to stop, the echoes continued inside everyone's head for the next hour, giving most of the council headaches.

The streets were large and cobbled. Small paths ran from the main roads into the doorways of the individual homes. The houses had steep roofs, meeting at an apex that lay directly above the center of the houses. Wooden planks ran parallel to the floor, making up the walls and the roofs of the houses. These materials made it harder to keep out the cold during the winters, but being further south than New Berk, which was already much warmer than Berk, this was not a big issue. A fire inside the house would be sufficient to keep the place warm. The houses were bigger than those in Berk and had at least two levels; some even had three. Balconies were common in this village, as many houses had porches on the second or third floor that could overlook the main road that was connected to them.

"Welcome to the Founders Tribe!" A loud voice proclaimed as their ship docked. "I'm Kari Peaceable Sollvi, Chief of the Founders Tribe. Thank you for coming Chief!" Kari looked to be in her sixties. She had hazelnut brown eyes which radiated with confidence and exuberance. She had a sharp face, yet it did not show any signs of hostility, but was filled with care and gratitude. Her hair was jet black and tied up behind her in a long ponytail. She wore a long purple robe that had intricate floral designs on it, and around her waist was a metallic belt lined with an intricate pattern. She did not carry a sword, yet the Berkians felt that if anyone had chosen to start a fight with her they would lose, even if they were heavily armed.

Rallen - the messenger and her second-in-command, and three other council members were present on the docks when they arrived. Rallen was a lean man who looked to be in his mid-thirties. There was a scar on the left side of his face running from beside the mouth to the middle of his cheek. His face was serious half the time, and the other half of the time when he was joking he only looked a little less serious. _He reminds me of Viggo_, Hiccup thought to himself. His self-confidence and seemingly introspective nature certainly drew some similarities to Viggo's. He had a shiny grey metallic chestplate that had the Founders' insignia on it, which was green in colour. He was dressed in a red long-sleeved tunic, and wore black pants. Hiccup diverted his attention back to Kari.

With a smile stretched across her face, Kari extended her hand towards Hiccup. Hiccup accepted her hand, and both of them shared a warm handshake.

"I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Chief of the Hairy Hooligans Tribe. This is Astrid Haddock, my wife, and this is Zephyr and Nuffink, my children," Hiccup introduced while sweeping his hand towards his family members.

"I'm Snotlout, the strongest and most handsome man on Berk," Snotlout said.

"And the most arrogant," Tuff interjected.

"Shut up Tuff, you're only jealous I have bigger muscles than you."

"Close your eyes Chief Kari, what he's going to do next may disgust you," Tuff said. As if on cue, Snotlout began to flex his biceps and kiss them. Kari watched this exchange with a bemused grin.

Clearing her throat, Kari spoke. "Come with me, and we can show you where you will be staying, and after that we can begin the tour of the island."

"So, would you like to tell us more about your tribe?" Hiccup asked as they began the tour.

"Sure, what would you like to know?" Kari replied.

"How about your tribe's history 'cause as far as I remember you didn't include any of that in your letter?" Snotlout shot.

"Ah, that might be a bit of a problem."

The Berkians on the tour gave her a questioning look.

"It's not that I have a problem telling you our history, it's more of the fact that we don't have much history. You see, I am the founder of the tribe."

The Berkians looked at her with astonishment. There was a moment of silence as they let that fact sink in.

"Why did you start a tribe all of a sudden? I mean, I doubt someone would simply leave their tribe and start a new one. What happened?" Hiccup asked.

Kari let out a small sigh as though she was trying to suppress some dark memories, but continued. "I was part of another tribe in the Barbaric Archipelago. Just like many tribes there, we suffered from dragon raids. At first I was led to believe that dragons were wild beasts and that we should kill them to protect ourselves. But all that changed when I fell off a cliff one day when I was eleven. I thought that I was dead. But at the last moment, a Monstrous Nightmare, the fiercest and deadliest of all dragons, saved me at the last moment and put me down on a flat grassy plains at the back of my tribe's island. Needless to say, I was shocked that a dragon saved me. I spent about two days navigating my way back to the town, and when I got back the first thing that I did was tell my dad about it. He was shocked too since he had seen me fall off the cliff and thought I was dead. He believed me, but he told me not to tell anyone about it as they wouldn't believe me.

"Three years later, I returned to the same cliff in the night to think about the things that happened. Suddenly, a Monstrous Nightmare appeared in front of me. I grabbed my axe, ready to kill it, but when I took a closer look, I realised that this was the same dragon that saved me years ago. I lowered my axe, and tried to touch the dragon, and surprisingly, he let me do so. I was so excited that I forgot everything my dad said, and quickly rushed back to town with the Nightmare to show my dad. But when I reached town, a few people saw me, and one of those who did was the chief. He quickly whipped out his sword and ordered the people to kill the dragon and save me. At that moment I realised what I had done. I had betrayed my new friend. I led him to his death. I had to choose whether to save the dragon or save myself, because if I sided with the dragon they would definitely exile me. At that moment, I chose to stay by my new friend's side because without him, I would not be alive. I told them not to hurt him, but they didn't listen. They just pushed me aside and attacked the dragon.

"That's when my dad jumped in to tell them the story of how this dragon saved my life. They stopped for a while to think. However, they labelled him as a traitor and kept attacking the dragon. So my dad…"

Kari paused for a moment, as though she was trying to find the right words. Her quiet confidence was replaced momentarily by a sad and faraway look.

"He gave his life trying to protect that dragon."

There was a moment of silence.

"The Monstrous Nightmare was slain by the people as well. That left a horrible impression of my tribe on me. So when my mother passed away a few years later from an illness, I made the decision to leave the tribe. I left on a ship to any island far away from my tribe, to a place where hopefully people could see the good side of dragons. However, wherever I went, dragon raids were still occurring, and no matter how much I tried to change their minds, very few people believed me. Along the way though, I met a few people who had the same way of thinking as me. So after drifting around for about a decade, we left the Barbaric Archipelago entirely as we believed there was no way we could change their minds about dragons. We found this island, and decided to build our new tribe here. Although it was sad that dragons did not come here, we could at least live in peace with them, neither side hurting each other.

"So when Rallen here - he's my second-in-command - told me that Berk managed to have peace with the dragons, we decided to contact you guys, because if someone could change the minds of the Vikings regarding dragons and manage to protect more dragons from harm, it should be someone within the Barbaric Archipelago, and we want to help you in doing so as much as we can. I'm just surprised that you guys came by ship instead of dragonback which Rallen strongly suggested you would."

Hiccup shared a worried look with Astrid. How was he to tell them that the dragons have returned to the Hidden World? Would they still want to sign the treaty?

"Well we would have come here on dragonback if it wasn't for Hiccup," Tuff suddenly said.

"Yeah, Hiccup wanted us to get rid of all our dragons and let them follow Toothless to a safer place," Ruff said.

"Why is he the one always calling the shots? I mean-" Tuff started to speak, but was silenced by a menacing glare from both Hiccup and Astrid.

The Founders party stopped in their tracks. Kari turned to them, a confused look on her face. "You mean you no longer have the dragons with you?"

The rest of the Founders seemed to share the same sentiments as their chief. Hiccup's face was etched with worry at this question. _How am I supposed to tell them about the dragons' safety without revealing the Hidden World? After all, we're supposed to be protecting that secret, and if telling them the truth about the dragons leads to that being revealed we aren't really protecting that secret but not telling the truth might be even worse and I'm a horrible liar and we don't want-_

"Chief Hiccup?" Kari asked again, pulling him out of his thoughts. She looked directly at him with her brown eyes, and although her eyes were usually quite expressive, they were completely unreadable at this time. Hiccup did not know if this was a good or bad thing.

"Well, uh- yes, the dragons aren't here with us, but uh- they're around, like, with us, but uh- not here _here_, as in-" Hiccup's stammering was interrupted by Kari raising an eyebrow.

Hiccup paused for a moment. Kari seemed to read him like a book. Letting out a nervous sigh, Hiccup decided to tell the truth.

"Alright fine, they're no longer with us because it's not safe for them. Berk and the dragons have been attacked way too many times for our liking, and we decided that to keep them safe, they need to leave. So Toothless took them all to a safe place."

_That was easier than I thought_, he mused. _I managed to say why the dragons left without revealing the Hidden World-_

"So where have they gone to?" Kari asked.

That question threw off Hiccup's thought processes. The one question he wanted to avoid, the one question that could change the way this treaty signing trip could go, the one question that could endanger the dragons… Hiccup wondered how he should go about explaining to Kari.

After a short while, he finally made up his mind.

"I can't tell you, I'm sorry. Berk has promised to protect the secret of the location to ensure that no one else will be able to harm them."

Silence ensued while the Founders took time to process Hiccup's words. Kari was deep in thought, while Rallen kept shooting questioning glances at both Hiccup and Kari, the former for what he just said, and the latter to try and get a hint as to what her thought processes were.

"It definitely hurts that you can't trust us enough to tell us the location," Kari began. Hiccup and the Berkians braced themselves, preparing for the worst. Would they cancel the treaty? Would they demand for the location?

"But…" Hiccup perked up upon hearing this word. A feeling of hope filled his chest. "Since we both have a common goal to protect the dragons, we can continue with the treaty. If you believe that keeping the secret is the only way to protect them, we will honour your promise and help you to do so."

Hiccup let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you Chief Kari, you have no idea how much it means to me that you intend to continue with the treaty."

"No worries Chief Hiccup. How about we head to the Grand Hall for the feast?"

The feast was a very grand one. It was filled with a wide assortment of foods that made everyone's mouth water. There was boar chops, made the way the riders loved it back when Heather cooked for them on the Edge. There was beef, which they rarely ate since cows could not be found on both Berk and New Berk. The most delicious of them all was a new dish that hailed from the East. As Kari later told the Berkians, Rallen had introduced the dish to them when he first arrived. It consisted of chicken cooked in a manner none of them have seen before. Kari told them it was steamed over boiling water, and mixed with special herbs and spices that hailed from the East as well. Since there was a limited supply of these herbs and spices, they were reserved for special occasions, such as these.

"This dish is possibly the best thing I've ever tasted," Astrid said.

"As much as I hate to do so, I have to agree with Astrid," Snotlout continued, earning him a glare from Astrid.

"This is really nice," Fishlegs commented.

"Thank you," Rallen replied, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"How did you get the name Remarkable? I always wanted a nice name," Tuffnut said.

"I came here about ten years ago while searching for a good place to stay. Kari was warm and welcoming and she invited me to stay. I originally intended to stay here for a short while, but nonetheless I worked where I could for a living. During this time, many people often said what I did for them was remarkable, earning me my name, and after I got this name I chose to stay on."

"Well you really deserve that name, this dish is remarkable," Hiccup said.

Apart from the food, the mead there was special as well. There was a unique taste to the mead, probably from the different plants that were grown further south. The Berkians drank to their heart's content while managing to stay sober, surprisingly. Gobber had drunk so much that he was more often seen at the toilet than in the hall.

The feast continued late into the night, with conversation flowing and a celebratory mood to the entire affair. Zephyr, Nuffink, and Smitelout had returned to their homes at some point in the night, with Nuffink promising to his father that he will keep his older sister out of trouble and giving her a teasing wink. Hiccup simply smiled and told Nuffink that he had his trust, before he sent a teasing smile to Zephyr too. She simply rolled her eyes and walked out of the hall, much to Hiccup and Nuffink's amusement.

"As you can see, my dear Hiccup, the unique taste of the mead is due to the-" Tuff took a sip of the mead, swirling it in his mouth, "warmer climate, allowing the honey to ferment more during the same period of time."

"Indeed my dear brother, but I'm afraid you're missing one key element," Ruff added.

"And what might that be, my dear sister?"

"The mead is filled with a special substance that makes you more lethargic, dulling your senses and thus making the mead taste better the more you drink it."

"Ah! You're right! How could I miss something that obvious? The skills of one food detective Tuffnut Thorston appears to be diminishing, and this can only be fixed with a lengthy retraining process. We shall begin this training by studying this Eastern chicken. As you can see-"

"It's okay Tuff," Hiccup interrupted. "Food detective Tuffnut Thorston can wait until we return to Berk before retraining starts."

"Are they always like that Hiccup?" Kari asked, with a bemused smile. Over the course of the day the formalities of calling each other chief had been dropped, and they had chosen to call each other by their names.

"Yeah, most of the time. Half the time they're doing stuff like this, and the other half they're pranking some innocent soul."

Kari let out a small chuckle. Suddenly, Snotlout let out a loud yawn.

"Am I the only one here feeling extremely tired all of a sudden?" Snotlout asked.

"Now that you mention it I am feeling quite tired," Kari replied.

"Me too," said Fishlegs

"Me three." "And me four," said the twins.

"I really don't want this night to end so can someone wake me up in ten minutes, I think I'll be better by then," Snotlout said while resting his head on the table. The moment his head touched the table, he was out cold.

"Even though it is Snotlout we're talking about, it is weird for him to fall asleep the moment his head touches the table," Astrid noted.

"She's got a point there sis," Tuff said. "Hey, do you think if I do the same, I will knock out-" Tuff was cut short by his sudden tiredness, causing his head to collapse onto the table.

"Knock it off bro, there's no way that-" Ruff was cut short by the same thing happening to her.

"Uhh Hiccup, what is happening?" Fishlegs asked in a worried tone.

"I don't know Fishlegs, I'm getting really worried too- Fishlegs!" Hiccup was interrupted by Fishlegs passing out too.

"Kari, I think we might need some help here!" Astrid exclaimed. The intensity of the situation could be felt by everyone due to the tone of Astrid's voice. It was definitely not natural for four people to suddenly faint.

"Asger, go get the healer," Kari said to one of the council members present. Her tone was so urgent that it caused Asger to freeze for a moment, before she finally turned around and ran. As she ran to the door, she suddenly stopped.

"Asger what's wro-" Asger fell onto her knees, her left hand on the floor and her right hand grasping her head. Her eyes were screwed shut tightly, and her face was twisted into a look of pain. Barely a moment passed before she fell onto her elbows, and finally ended up lying face first on the ground.

Shock began to pass through everyone present. Rallen was the first to rush to her. He placed a hand on her neck and pulled his head close to her nose. "She's alive," he declared.

Relief was evident in everyone's faces. But the relief was short lived. Kari suddenly gripped her head, her face screwed up into a look of discomfort. Without a warning, she fell backwards, her hand on her head managing to cushion most of the impact. Her face continued to have the same look of discomfort when all of a sudden, her eyes and mouth snapped open. She drew a sharp breath and her eyes rolled backwards as thought she was looking up at something. A blank look could be seen in her face before she closed her eyes.

"Kari!" Hiccup and Astrid exclaimed in unison. As they both rushed to her; Hiccup from his seat beside Kari and Astrid from her seat behind Hiccup, Astrid stumbled. She quickly put out a hand onto the table to catch herself. Hiccup turned around to look at Astrid, worry evident on his face. At a loss whether to help Kari or Astrid, he was pulled out of his momentary shock by Astrid collapsing to the ground like a log falling onto the ground, causing a thud to be heard around the Grand Hall.

"Oh gods, Astrid!" Hiccup exclaimed, running over to the limp form of his wife. But before he reached her, he became a victim as well. His head suddenly throbbed with excruciating pain, and his hand instinctively reached for his head. A hiss of pain escaped his lips as he collapsed to his hands and knees. Drawing a shaky breath, he tried to steady himself, but to no avail. The darkness was calling him. As he collapsed to the ground, he could vaguely hear Rallen calling to him.

"Hiccup? Oh gods, this- this is bad." The voice was muffled, sounding like the words were spoken underwater.

He could vaguely hear the muffled thud of the doors of the Grand Hall closing before unconsciousness claimed him.


	3. Chapter 3: A Bad Morning For Both

**A/N: The next three chapters have been pre-uploaded, so I can't reply to reviews until the sixth chapter. If anyone knows a way please let me know, I'm new to this whole thing. Anyways, enjoy!**

Chapter 3: Next Morning

"Astrid? Astrid, wake up." A hand was urgently shaking her left arm, rousing her from her sleep.

"Five m-more babe," Astrid mumbled. Why did Hiccup always want to wake her up so early-

_Wait, that voice was feminine. Hiccup's voice isn't feminine…_

Astrid shot up suddenly, her head knocking against someone else's head with a loud _thunk_. She rolled her head back for a moment before raising a hand to rub the point of contact. An exclamation of both pain and surprise rang out from in front of her.

"Kari?"

"Thank goodness you're awake, I've been trying to wake someone up for a while," Kari said. Astrid noticed that she continued to rub her head where a particular person had recently struck her.

"Uh, yea, sorry about that," Astrid said, her eyes turning away from Kari.

"It's okay. You're the third to wake up after the events of last night."

_Last night! Everyone was fainting all of a sudden! _Astrid's eyes began to dart around the hall, looking at everyone who had fainted.

"Rallen woke me up about a minute ago actually, and-"

Kari's words were entering Astrid's left ear and exiting through the other as she was searching for a thin figure with dark auburn hair-

"HICCUP!" A shout from Astrid stopped Kari in her tracks. They both looked around, trying to find him. But no matter where they looked, all they saw were the unconscious Berkians and Founders; no sign of the Chief of Berk.

"Where's Hiccup?" Astrid asked urgently. Kari looked around in bewilderment.

"I have no idea, you were the closest to me so I woke you up first."

"But Hiccup was sitting next to you!"

Kari stopped, taking in what was said. It was true, Hiccup had sat next to her during the feast. She vaguely remembered seeing him stand up from his seat as she passed out.

"Where's Rallen?" Astrid continued. "Did he see Hiccup?"

"He went to get a healer. I don't think he saw Hiccup, he didn't mention Hiccup to me."

Astrid tensed up, worry etched in her face.

"Astrid," Kari's gentle voice continued, "he might have woken up earlier and gone for a walk or something. Don't worry."

"But that's not like him at all! If he woke up first he would've tried to wake me up."

"Maybe he went to the healer-"

Kari was interrupted again - too many times for her liking, she thought to herself - by Rallen entering the Hall with the healer.

Astrid frowned. Hiccup was definitely lost. She quickly woke everyone else up, pouring the cold water that Rallen and the healer had brought in on their faces. Snotlout being Snotlout, he screamed like a little girl when the cold water struck his face. After recovering from his shock, he had chided Astrid for disturbing his beauty sleep and destroying his beautiful morning look by pouring water on him, but a stern glare from Astrid prevented him from continuing, as Snotlout mentioned. Kari thought that the fist to his left cheek was more effective than the glare though.

After Astrid told everyone that Hiccup was gone, there were many different responses. Fishlegs was obviously worried, muttering to himself things such as "oh Thor, oh Thor". Snotlout was whining about how it was typical of Hiccup to get lost and get into mischief just like when he was small. Ruff and Tuff were being their usual annoying selves, asking each other why Hiccup was always the one to go on these adventures on his own.

The only sensible ones were Eret and Gobber. Upon hearing the news, Gobber immediately left to search for Hiccup.

"Any idea where he could've gone?" Eret asked Astrid.

"No idea, I really can't think of any place he could've gone. He's not the type to simply wander around town on his own. And if he went back to get something, it's been way too long..." Astrid replied. "And besides," Astrid diverted her gaze towards the ground, a longing look replacing the fear in her eyes, "he wouldn't go anywhere without trying to wake me up first."

The two of them sat in silence for a while. Then all of a sudden, the main door burst open. All eyes turned to look at the figures standing in the doorway. Zephyr, Nuffink, Smitelout, and Gobber had burst open the doors to the hall in their rush to return. But when the people in the hall saw them, the looks of fear, worry, and anxiety was replaced by looks of horror. Because in Smitelout's hands was something that no one present wanted to see.

It was the bloodied and torn clothes of their good friend and leader, Hiccup.

Light began to filter through his eyelids although his eyes were closed. The fatigue from the night before had worn off, leaving Hiccup with a massive headache. It felt like Gobber was hitting the right side of his head with a hammer repeatedly. Hiccup let out a groan, but it did nothing to quell the throbbing. The floor was rocking from left to right as he stood. He pulled his left hand down to rub his head-

_Clink. _

_Clink. Clink. _

_Clink. Clink. Clink. _

Every time he tried to pull his hand down to his head, it was met by a metallic clink. _Wait, down to my head?_ He slowly opened his eyes, squinting them against the light. He took a second to adjust to the light, and when he did, he was greeted with the sight of wooden planks surrounding him. Directly in front of him was a wooden door with metal locks around the sides. A torch burned by the right side of the door. On his left side was a table filled with many tools and devices, some of which Hiccup had never seen before. Hiccup slowly looked up to where the metallic clink came from. Both his hands were stretched up and chained to the ceiling. He looked around him warily. The room was a rectangular one, about five meters long and three meters wide. And directly behind him was a guard seated on a chair. His head was slumped forward and resting on his chest. He was fast asleep.

Hiccup noticed that a chill swept through his body although he was wearing clothes. He looked down, trying to spot a hole in his clothing. But what he saw was worse than what he expected. He was not wearing his typical metallic armour, or his fur coat that he made to sail to the Hidden World all that time ago. He was wearing a thin black shirt, and thin black pants. He had no armour on him at all, and the material he was wearing did nothing to keep out the cold. He shivered. He knew that he had to try and get out before anyone noticed him. _Wait, the guard is sleeping!_ Hiccup took this opportunity to try pulling on both his chains hard.

_CLINK. _

The only thing he managed to accomplish while doing this was to arouse the sleeping guard. He looked straight at Hiccup with a dazed look, before quickly coming to his senses. With a groan, he stirred from his chair and rushed to unlock the door.

"Sir, the prisoner is awake!" He screamed down the hallway.

As the guard bolted out of the room and into the hallway, Hiccup took the opportunity to look around him. He noticed the ground continued to sway left and right, so he was probably on a ship unless they invented a rocking chamber which Ruff and Tuff kept trying to make. There was a small window on his right where light was streaming in from, and where a chilly wind blew in from. _Yep, I'm definitely on a ship._ Hiccup noticed water outside the ship.

"You've finally woken up," a tenor voice sounded from outside the chamber.

Hiccup turned his head in the direction of the sound. In the doorway of the chamber stood a man who did not look like a Viking at all. In fact, he looked like he came from the Far East; Hiccup has seen one or two people who came from there so he could recognise the look. He was middle-aged, and had wrinkles on his forehead. His eyes were thoughtful and the edges of his mouth revealed a small smirk. Hiccup could not tell if the smirk was menacing or merely his natural face. He was clad in the same clothes that Hiccup was wearing, except he was wearing a fur coat as well. His shiny metal armour covered his shoulders and the top of his arms, as well as his entire chest. There were purple stripes spanning across the armour diagonally from the top left to the bottom right. He also wore armour for his legs, which had black stripes running from the top of the armour to his feet.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked, scowling at the man in the doorway.

"Oh, pardon my manners," the man continued in a heavy accent, "I have an Eastern name, but ever since I came to this area I've taken up a much simpler name. You can call me Krizzen. Krizzen… Chan."

Silence ensued between them.

"Okay, it's not the most menacing second name but I was born with it. I'm also known as Krizzen the Conqueror too," Krizzen continued.

Silence ensued between them.

"Alright, I know Krizzen starts with a K, and conqueror starts with a C, but it sounds the same okay?"

His style of speech greatly reminded Hiccup of Dagur. He spoke his words quickly; Hiccup thought it sounded more like rambling, and it was eccentric, to say the least.

After a short pause, Hiccup asked warily. "What do you want?"

Krizzen chuckled. "Simple. The dragons. I've been told that they're no longer with Berk, but are at some _hidden world _or something. I want to know where that is"

That was something Hiccup had not heard in a long time, in fact he had not heard it since Grimmel had attacked Berk. This was enough to shock him and cause him to fall speechless for a moment.

"Yo, you there? Hello?" Krizzen's voice shook Hiccup out of his thoughts and back into the real world.

"Why do you want them?"

"World dominion. I'm not known as Krizzen the Conqueror for nothing," he scowled.

"Well I'm not giving them up so easily." Hiccup said in the toughest voice possible.

"I expected that," Krizzen let out a disappointed sigh. "So I've gotta use these bad boys." He waved his right hand to the table of tools. Hiccup shifted his glare from Krizzen to the table of tools he saw earlier. That was when he finally realised what was on the table. The table was not loaded with simple tools, they were loaded with tools that could cause… pain. Extreme pain.

Dread began to swell up in Hiccup's chest. He suddenly felt extremely vulnerable in the position he was in, hands chained to the ceiling, leaving his entire body exposed. A cold chill ran down his spine. His eyes widened in horror and he gulped at the sight of the tools, fully understanding what Krizzen meant. Krizzen noticed the change in Hiccup's behaviour and let out a small chuckle.

"I see you understand what I mean."

Hiccup shook his head to clear his mind. Managing to shake off the feelings of dread, he straightened his face, continuing his cold glare at Krizzen.

Krizzen sauntered over to the table, running his right hand over the tools. There were knives, whips, hooks, daggers, tiny containers containing who knows what, and more. His hand slowly ran over the tools, finally stopping at a whip. He picked it up and walked over to Hiccup. Placing a strong left hand on Hiccup's face, he leaned in close to Hiccup. "You've one more chance to talk, or my friend in my right hand here-" he whipped the wooden floor for good effect, creating a loud whipping and cracking sound, "will explore your body," he hissed in Hiccup's face. Hiccup turned his face sharply to his right, hitting Krizzen's hand away in a show of defiance, and continued to glare into the cold light blue eyes of Krizzen.

Krizzen retracted his hand, and putting both of them behind his back, he looked at Hiccup keenly, waiting for a response, but when none came, he let out another disappointed sigh while closing his eyes and drooping his head as though he has admitted defeat.

"Well, you leave me no choice," he said as he walked around Hiccup's left side, stopping towards the back left corner of the chamber.

He raised his right hand and the whip in said hand over his head, and got ready to strike. Hiccup closed his eyes and tucked his head into his neck as best as he could, bracing himself for the impact. He knew that whipping was a very painful experience, as he had heard from other people who had suffered. He knew that the new clothes he had would do nothing to protect his back. He knew that there would be scars on his back, and he knew that the pain would be almost unbearable.

But he knew that he could not reveal the location of the Hidden World, no matter what.

He steeled himself for the impact, expecting the worst. Despite all he had done however, he was not ready for the sharp pain that permeated his entire body. The loud crack of the whip rang through his ears, followed by a searing pain. It felt like his flesh was ripped from his skin in the most brutal way possible. The rope licked his back, ripping off some of the skin and exposing the flesh underneath. He screamed in pain, despite his best efforts to hold back any sound. _And this was only one stroke_, he thought to himself.

He tried to distract himself from the pain. He thought of Astrid, of her beauty, her beautiful blonde hair-

_CRACK. _

The second strike hit him squarely on the back, snapping him out of his thoughts. The searing pain was back, and more of his skin was torn off his back. It overlapped a bit with the first strike, hitting the raw exposed flesh and sending sharp pains down Hiccup's back. Instinct caused him to jerk his back as much as he could, and he let out another blood curdling scream.

Blow after blow rained down on his back, so much till the point he had lost count after seventeen because the pain was too much to handle. After what felt like an eternity, an eternity of torment and pain, the blows stopped and Krizzen walked back in front of Hiccup, the whip in his hand coated with some blood. He looked straight at the Berkian chief. His head was facing the floor, and he was panting heavily. Small whines and groans of pain continued to escape his mouth, and he shuddered now and then as the sting of the whip continued to race down his back even though the blows had stopped. The thin material covering his back had tears in the shape of the whip all over, and his back was red and raw from the whipping, blood oozing out of some of the deeper cuts.

Krizzen gripped Hiccup's chin tightly and lifted his head upwards, forcing Hiccup to look into his eyes. A pained grunt escaped his lips when Krizzen jerked his head up quickly. His emerald green eyes showed fear and pain for a moment, but he quickly hid it by changing to a look of defiance and anger. Krizzen leaned in close such that his mouth was beside Hiccup's ear, and hissed menacingly, "and this is only the beginning if you don't tell me what I want to know."

He released Hiccup's head, letting it slump back downwards. With a tight slap across his face, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

Hiccup winced in pain. The whipping has left him in a constant state of pain. Every time he took a breath, there was the chance that the shirt would touch one of the whip marks, which would cause him to shudder. Some of the wounds were slightly deeper and were bleeding since the whip tore the skin and then the flesh from the multiple blows. He let out another pained whine and turned his head towards the window on his right, a longing look replacing the anger and fear in his eyes. _I hope they know where I am_, he thought. _Astrid… where are you, I need you to save me… again_.


	4. Chapter 4: The Horrors

Chapter 4: The Horrors

The light slowly faded into darkness. The chilly wind entering the small window became even colder, and it did nothing to soothe the pain in Hiccup's back. He estimated that it has been about twelve hours since Krizzen left the room. The loneliness was unsettling, particularly because his hands remained chained well above his head. Another reason was because Hiccup could not even find a guard to talk to and potentially squeeze out some information from him. He sighed. He wondered how long more this would continue, and when would Astrid and the gang find him. Until then though, he knew he had to stay strong, and make sure he did not reveal any information about the dragons.

The door to the chamber suddenly shot open with a loud slam. Krizzen stood at the doorway holding a thin long metal rod by a leather grip. He still wore the same clothing, except that he had put on a second fur coat. His face was relaxed and he wore a small smile, which Hiccup found unsettling.

"Well it's been about half a day, have you thought about my proposal?" Krizzen said.

Hiccup scowled at Krizzen. "I'll never tell you anything. Try your best."

Krizzen sighed. Shrugging his shoulders and raising both hands, he said, "I tried to give you a chance, but you have to ruin it."

He stretched out the metal rod and held it over the torch. Hiccup watched as the flames licked the half of the rod where Krizzen was not holding. The rod was slowly heating up. Nothing was going to protect him from what was about to come, especially since his hands were chained above his head. The only thing that Hiccup could use was his mouth. With that in mind, he did the only thing he could do; try and talk Krizzen out of it, or rather threaten him.

"Just wait until Berk finds this ship, they'll overrun you easily. By now they would've sent out a search party, and we have some pretty fast ships." Hiccup knew that he was powerless to defend himself, so he relied heavily on his one usable part; his mouth and sarcasm.

It was true, Berk did have ships that could travel faster than normal, and Eret could be thanked for that. While dragon hunting, he had developed a way to position the sails such that the winds could be used to the fullest and drive the ships forward. He had provided this information to Berk's ship construction crew, and they have managed to make a few really fast ships.

Krizzen didn't react to Hiccup's words. His eyes remained locked on the rod, presumably until it turned red, Hiccup thought.

"I'm serious, we can catch up, and you'll be done for." Hiccup persisted, trying to get a response.

Krizzen sighed again, much to Hiccup's annoyance. It seemed like every time Hiccup talked to him it would annoy him or disappoint him, eliciting the many sighs.

"You're dead to Berk." Krizzen stated in a matter-of-fact voice, devoid of any emotion.

"Yeah right, and I'm the emperor of Rome," Hiccup retorted sarcastically.

"Why do you think you're wearing these black clothes instead of your normal clothes?"

That got Hiccup thinking. Where were his clothes? He never thought about that. Was what Krizzen was saying really true? Krizzen looked up at Hiccup and noticed his lack of concentration. He snapped his fingers in front of Hiccup rapidly. Hiccup blinked twice, and shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"In case you still don't understand, Berk thinks you're dead. Your old clothes is 'evidence' for that," Krizzen explained. "Now before this metal rod explores your body, you better start talking."

The rod was glowing red from the heat of the torch. Hiccup looked at it with dread. He knew how painful branding was, and the rod was definitely way larger than a brand. For a moment he considered talking to spare himself of the pain, but he found that selfish, and he wasn't about to let his selfish desires get in the way of preventing world chaos.

Putting on a brave front, he replied to Krizzen with an icy cold voice that served to hide his fear. "Never."

"Are you sure?" Krizzen asked. "You're alone in this fight. Berk isn't coming. You can spare yourself the agony by simply talking, maybe you'll even get to see your family again."

"Berk is coming," Hiccup stated. "Just you wait and see."

"Oh well," Krizzen said, a sigh escaping his mouth again. "You can wait and see for yourself too. They won't be here at all."

He didn't think about what was happening to him as the hot metal rod was placed across his back, burning his skin and causing the scent of burnt flesh to fill the chamber. _My mind is strong, I can wait for them to come!_ _Regardless of what happens to me, I won't talk._

The grand hall of the Founders Tribe was usually a lively place, filled with laughter and cheer from all the tribe members celebrating or simply enjoying a good meal together. But the current atmosphere in the hall seemed to mirror the gloomy skies on the outside. Although it was morning, dark grey rain clouds had formed over the island, and there was heavy rainfall.

Zephyr, Nuffink, Smitelout, and Gobber stood in the doorway of the Grand Hall, drenched from head to toe. Water was dripping from their clothes and forming a little puddle on the clean floors of the hall. That was the least of their worries though. Nuffink was hugging Zephyr tightly with both hands and he had his head buried in Zephyr's shoulder, and Zephyr had her left hand wrapped around his head protectively. Gobber was standing on their left, a downcast look on his face. He looked up for a moment to look at the people in the hall, and his gaze returned to nothing particular on the floor. Smitelout was doing the same, but he held the dreaded thing in his hands.

Hiccup's armour was covered in scratches that looked like claw marks. His dark red leather tunic and the top half of his fur coat was torn to shreds. The bottom half of his fur coat was intact, but it was completely stained with blood.

Everyone in the hall looked at it with horror. Astrid's eyes were wide open, and her mouth hung down in disbelief. Snotlout stopped his whining, and the twins stopped their usual bickering. The silence in the hall was unnerving; the only thing breaking the silence was the splashing of the rain on the floor outside the hall.

A good thirty seconds that felt like an eternity passed before Kari finally broke the silence. "Where did you find this?" Her question finally brought the people in the hall out of their dazed states and back to the present.

"In the woods," Smitelout said. "When Zephyr woke up this morning…"

The sky was still dark outside, but Zephyr was awake. Being an early riser for as long as she can remember, she was usually the first to wake up, and often arose before the first light came in from the windows. Zephyr stretched and let out a sigh of contentment. She slowly sat up in bed and turned towards the door. Nuffink was still fast asleep in the bed nearer the door. _Why did he pick the bed nearer the door when I always wake up before him_, she thought. She put on her boots and shuffled to the door, and down the stairs into the living room. Although they were guests at the Founders Tribe, Hiccup's chief status meant that they were given nicer living quarters than the rest of the Berkians. Their place had two storeys, and a kitchen, which meant that they didn't have to go to the Grand Hall for breakfast unlike the others. But this also meant that Zephyr had to make breakfast like usual. She was fine with it though, she liked to cook for the Haddock family. Hiccup had invented all sorts of new recipes using normal spices and food items and she had taken after her father, in fact, some have said that her inventiveness at cooking is better than Hiccup's.

Walking down the stairs, she stole a quick glance at her parents' bedroom. It was on the first floor and led into the living room. She didn't know why she decided to look that way, but she did. Immediately she noticed something was off. The door was open, and the bed inside was still made, which meant that her parents have not slept yet. _That's strange, normally Mom would be sleeping, even if Dad sometimes doesn't return home to sleep. _Deciding to take a closer look, she walked into the bedroom. Sure enough, everything was left exactly as it was before they left to the Grand Hall for the feast.

"NUFFINK!" She screamed while bolting up the stairs. Shaking her younger brother roughly, she shouted, "Mom and Dad didn't return home last night! We gotta go search for them!"

Nuffink arose with a start. He jumped into action immediately, putting on his boots and his armour as humanely fast as possible. They both bolted out the front door and were tearing down the path towards the place where the Jorgenson family was staying.

"SMITELOUT!" Zephyr screamed, banging the door as hard as she could.

A few seconds later, Smitelout opened the door. His eyes showed his tiredness, but nonetheless he could sense the urgency in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Did Snotlout come home last night?"

He strode back into the house, leaving the door ajar. Within seconds, the reply could be heard from deep inside the house. "Nope! The room's untouched!"

"My parents didn't return last night either," she said to Smitelout as he reappeared in the doorway.

Smitelout nodded. He turned around and walked back into the house. The two siblings were confused for a moment, but Smitelout returned shortly with his boots, armour, and a fur coat on. "Then let's go search for them."

They walked quickly towards the Grand Hall. Above them, dark clouds began to fill the sky, and the smell of rain could be smelt in the air. They climbed up the stairs of the Grand Hall and pushed open the doors. The sight they saw was not something they expected. Everyone was lying still on the floor. The three of them were stunned. Smitelout was the first to rush into action. Quickly recovering from his shock, he rushed forward and placed a hand on the wrist of Tuffnut, since he was the closest to the door.

"He's alive," he announced.

Zephyr and Nuffink followed suit, checking on every person in the hall. They heaved sighs of relief when they ensured that everyone was alive. But Zephyr still felt that something was off. That's when she realised it. It wasn't clear to her whether it was the initial shock of seeing everyone unconscious, or whether in her rush to check on everyone that it completely slipped her mind. Whatever the reason was, she was utterly furious at herself for not realising this sooner. But she kept her emotions in check, and managed to phrase her words in a way that hid what she felt towards herself.

"Where's Dad?"

Smitelout and Nuffink looked around. Sure enough, they didn't see any sign of Hiccup. Worry began to fill them. They ran out of the Grand Hall and looked around, trying to see where Hiccup might have gone. The rain was beginning to fall down, and it was only getting heavier by the second.

"If he woke up first, chances are he would've gone to get a healer," Smitelout reasoned.

"Which way is the healer though?" Nuffink asked.

They all scanned the area, trying to spot for any signs that would lead them to the healer. But they didn't find any. Pointing to his left, Smitelout said, "Let's try this path, hopefully it takes us there." Opting not to split up due to the anxious states of Zephyr and Nuffink, the three of them set off down that path.

Whether they would consider it a fortunate or unfortunate thing they couldn't and probably will never agree on, but within a few minutes, their search was cut short by Zephyr's scream. Smitelout and Nuffink turned sharply, and followed her gaze to what was troubling her. Although the wind was blowing the rain into their eyes, they could still see what the issue was. But when they saw what it was, they both released sharp gasps of surprise and horror as well.

Lying near the edge of the forest was Hiccup's armour, scratched up and dented in many areas. About two meters away lay his clothes, torn to bits, and half of his fur coat was dipped in a pile of blood. Some of the blood had been washed off due to the heavy rain.

Smitelout was the first to react. He quickly ran forward to collect the items, and examined them closely. He ran his fingers over the scratches, feeling the sharp edges left by whatever had scratched it. He placed his hands on the torn clothing, examining the shreds left and the thickness of the scratches. He pulled the fur coat out of the blood by the cleaner side, and let his gaze fall to the blood on the coat and the puddle of blood…

"That's when Gobber found us, and we came back here with these…" he hesitated, trying to find the right words. He squinted his eyes while looking at the horrid clothing and armour in his hands, and shaking his head in disgust and contempt, he continued, "...things."

The Grand Hall was silent, listening to how the three young adults had found such a hideous thing. The tension in the air was unnerving, and no one wanted to break the silence, as they were all absorbing what has been said and trying to process the facts without accepting what seems to be the most obvious explanation.

"There are quite a few vicious animals in the forests…" Rallen began, but trailed off, not wanting to further dampen the mood, if that was possible.

"Is Hiccup…?" Ruffnut asked, partially to the people present and partially to herself.

"There?" Tuffnut finished, not able to find a better word to conceal what the facts point to.

There was another tense silence. The rain continued to fall onto the steps outside the hall, creating a loud _pitter patter_ sound. The immediate exterior of the hall and the entrance of the hall was becoming quite wet, as no one felt like moving after hearing what has been said, not even to close the door of the hall. Finally, the tension was broken by Smitelout dipping his head.

"No," he said in the tiniest whisper.

Deathly silence followed. The only sound was the falling of the rain. The downcast sky seemed to reflect the mood of the people in the hall; everyone was in disbelief that such a thing could happen, yet the evidence lay right in front of their eyes.

Suddenly, Snotlout jumped to his feet and shouted at the top of his lungs. "There is _no_ way Hiccup is dead! This-" he pointed both his hands at the bloodied and scratched items in his son's hands, "-doesn't mean anything! Hiccup's strong, he won't die to some wild animal so easily. I'd say we go take a look at the place, maybe there's more clues."

Everyone agreed, and Smitelout led them back to where they found the items. Due to the heavy rain, everyone was drenched from head to toe within seconds of stepping out of the hall, but that was the least of anyone's concerns right now. When they reached the place, the first thing that caught their attention was the large pool of blood on the ground that was mixed with the mud. Since the blood was in a little ditch, the heavy rain had caused the ditch to flood, and the blood had spread out and covered most of the muddy water.

"This was where the fur coat was," Smitelout said.

Rallen dropped to his knees and began investigating. Kari explained to the Berkians. "He's the best investigator we have. He's solved almost everything we needed to solve." That gave most of them confidence. Confidence that whatever happened would soon be cleared up. Her reassuring tone helped to soothe some of their worries as well.

Rallen scanned the area. He looked around the ditch, and seemingly spotting something, he moved towards it while crouching low. He placed a finger on the soil, and proceeded to place an entire palm on the ground. Rubbing a palm over the ground, he went onto his hands and knees, as though he was following something. He crawled forward, continuing to place his palm on the ground and rubbing around. Each time he did this, he would lower his head and squint his eyes for a good ten seconds. Eventually, he stood up, eyes filled with sadness. He looked in Kari's direction, and turned his head to her left towards where Astrid was standing. He caught her gaze for a second, before quickly lowering his head and averting her gaze, and proceeded to stare at the ground.

Astrid was filled with anxiety. Rallen's reaction when he saw her did not help subside any fears, in fact it simply made her feel worse. If his reaction was anything to go by, Astrid was expecting some bad news. But deep down, she still clutched on to some hope, the hope that Rallen's reaction was just a joke - a poorly timed one - but nonetheless still a joke, and he would tell her that everything was okay. Her eyes showed her anxiety, and Kari noticed it.

"Well, what's the result Rallen?" Kari asked on behalf of Astrid.

Rallen slowly raised his head to meet Kari's eyes. "There were tracks… animal tracks… The rain made it impossible to follow after four footprints, but I could clearly see…" he trailed off for a moment, and continued staring at the ground. Heaving a sigh, he continued. "Wolf prints."

Kari gasped. The Berkians looked at her curiously, unsure of what Rallen's words meant because they never had to deal with wolves, only dragons.

"A wolf can't be that bad right? I mean, Hiccup tamed dragons so…" Tuffnut said. Despite their typical carefree and prank-loving natures, they were serious at the moment.

"The wolves here are very territorial. If they attack it means that someone has trespassed on their land." Rallen explained.

"But he might've lived right? Hiccup wouldn't be taken down so quickly-" Snotlout began, but Rallen interrupted him. "The wolves attack to kill. Because food is quite hard to find in these forests too, they tend to… yeah… their prey… bones too." He spoke quickly, but trailed off towards the end to soften the impact. "I'm so sorry."

The Berkians were silent again. It was too much for them to take in. Their chief, their beloved friend, their _father_, her _husband_, the one that had a plan for everything, the one that always strived for a peaceful alternative, the one that always seemed to find a way out of any sticky situation, was… dead. Everyone was avoiding that dreaded word, but now after seeing with their own eyes and hearing the explanations… It seemed like the word could finally be used. _Dead_, such a final term. _Dead_, such a dreaded term. _Death_, such a hard thing to accept.

Suddenly, a loud splash was heard. Astrid collapsed to her knees, and buried her face in her hands. "Hiccup…" she whispered slowly. "Hiccup… Hiccup… Hiccup…" the whispers were getting louder. "HICCUP!" she wailed at the top of her lungs. Unable to control it any longer, she sobbed uncontrollably. Letting out loud wails of anguish, she cried and cried and cried. Running to their mother's side, Zephyr and Nuffink fell to their knees as well. Astrid reached out both her hands and held them both in a tight embrace. The remaining members of the Haddock family held each other tightly, trying to find comfort in each other's warm embrace. It was much harder for them. How could one accept that their father, their husband, was gone… forever? They would never hear him again, never feel his embrace again, never even see him again because of those wolves. The tears flowed freely from their eyes as they struggled to accept the reality.

Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Smitelout, Gobber, and Eret had removed their helmets in respect. Tears were forming in their eyes as well. They did nothing to stop them from flowing. After all, Hiccup was their friend too, and they would struggle to accept this. The grief was evident in all of their faces. Kari and Rallen had removed their helmets too. Although they only knew Hiccup for a short while, his kindness and gentle mannerism had won them over, and they showed him the due respect that he had earned from them.

They all stayed there in the rain for ten minutes, letting the reality set in and allowing their tears to flow freely until they dried up. Eventually, placing a gentle hand on Astrid's shoulder, Gobber said, "Tha' ain't no point getting yerself and yer kids all wet out here lass. Let's get inside, shall we?" Astrid raised her head to look at Gobber. He was Hiccup's mentor, and was basically a second father to him. He would be suffering just as much as her, but he could still think straight. Astrid saw the truth of his statement, and nodded her head. Slowly, the Haddock family rose to their feet, and the Berkians and the Founders began to make their way slowly back to the Grand Hall.


	5. Chapter 5: A Sad, Sad Goodbye

Chapter 5: A Sad, Sad Goodbye

The sun rose on a new day, but the dark rain clouds from the day before continued to pervade the sky, preventing the rays of light from reaching the ground. The rain had stopped, but the sky threatened to open up and pour heavily again. A dark shadow was cast on the island where the Founders Tribe resided. Torches burned in the streets, casting dancing shadows of the inanimate objects on the streets and on the walls of the houses. People continued to move around, but there was a noticeable gloom in the air. While the streets would usually be filled with lively chatter at this hour, today the streets were relatively silent. Whispers and soft mutterings were the only sounds that could be heard, apart from the noises of any animals roaming the streets. Whether it was the weather that caused this gloom, one could not be certain, but what people could definitely agree on was the fact that the gloom was due to the news of Hiccup's death spreading around the town. Many have heard of his adventures, and the peace that he brought with the dragons, and they held him in high regard for this. For such an unfortunate thing to happen, especially on their shores, was definitely a horrid thing, and it left an air of despair.

The day before, upon returning to the Grand Hall, Kari had ordered all work on any projects to be ceased, and called all construction crews to begin a very important project. They were to start work on a ship immediately, and its sails were to be decorated with the Berkian crest. This ship was going to be set to sail and the burning arrows were going to be shot onto it, as how a Viking funeral typically went. The men immediately set to work, and they managed to finish it within a day, working tirelessly through the whole day and night.

"Astrid," Gobber called from in front of her, "it's time."

With a nod of her head, Astrid rose from her seat. She was dressed in her red tunic with her white fur coat draped over her back, and her thick fur boots and spiked shoulder plates and skirt. Zephyr and Nuffink were already outside the house, waiting for her. This was going to be the toughest day of her life. Being Hiccup's wife, she was going to be saying the funeral rites as the arrows were fired onto the ship. She walked forward to the edge of the island, and picking up a bow and an arrow that had its tip coated with pitch, she began.

"May the Valkyries welcome you, and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the heights of Valhalla... and know that you've taken your rightful place at the table of kings. For a great man has fallen. A warrior. A chieftain. A father. A friend..." Astrid paused to collect herself, stifling the tears that threatened to flow. "A husband." The last two words were nothing more than a mere whimper, and her voice broke towards the end. She dipped her arrowhead in the fire, and drew back her bow. With one last glance at the ship, she released the bow and watched as the arrow sailed across the air. It landed in the middle of the ship where Hiccup's clothing and armour lay, and the fire quickly spread across the whole boat. The others present, following her lead, did likewise. They watched as flames engulfed the ship, burning Hiccup's items and the floor of the ship. The flames spread and soon the masts and sails caught on fire, and the entire ship began to burn and slowly sank into the water. The fire burned bright against the darkened sky, and when the last of the ship fell below the water, the first few raindrops could be felt.

Taking a final glance, the Berkians turned around and began to head back to pack. They would leave to return to Berk shortly, and who knows how the people of Berk would take the news.

Judging from the number of times the sun rose, it has been two weeks since they left the Founders. Hiccup was still locked up in the chamber, but they had released his hands and shackled him to a chair instead. It felt good to finally feel blood flowing through his hands again. Apart from the first few days, Krizzen hadn't tried to pry any more information from him. Sure, there were whip marks on his back, and there were welts forming where the hot rod struck his back, but besides that, the journey was relatively calm. That's why Hiccup withdrew slightly into himself when Krizzen walked into the chamber after two weeks. He wasn't sure if this was good or bad, because the last time Krizzen was here he suffered tremendously, but Krizzen not trying to extract information from him had slightly worried him, particularly because he did not know what was happening.

"How are you doing?" Krizzen asked.

Hiccup glared at him, staying completely silent.

Krizzen sighed. "Oh well, don't reply, suit yourself. Thought you should know that we're reaching our destination."

"They'll find me, and they'll get you regardless," Hiccup croaked out. His voice was hoarse, as he was given just enough water to stay alive.

"Hope's a dangerous thing," Krizzen tutted.

"I've been saved multiple times by them, I'm pretty sure my hope is justified."

"Don't you remember what I said? They think you're dead."

Hiccup was desperately trying to forget that, because there was no way that Berk would believe he was dead that quick. "You're lying. They wouldn't give up that easily."

"Oh really?" Krizzen lowered his head closer to Hiccup, a smirk on his face. "Then where are they? Where are they and your so called speedboats? It's been two weeks now, wouldn't they have caught up by now?"

Hiccup stayed silent. He kept glaring at Krizzen. There was truth in his statement, Berk should've found him by now. Maybe they were on another track, and would take just a short while more. Maybe they just took a longer route. Or maybe they didn't take the speedboats, and chose to play it safe and go slower. Or maybe…

There were so many plausible reasons, and he was not going to give Krizzen the pleasure of watching him think through his question. So he pushed it to the back of his mind, and hardened his look again, just in case any signs of thought were evident on his face. "They'll be here soon," he finally replied.

"Don't get your hopes up," Krizzen said. "As I said, hope's a dangerous thing. You'll get broken too easily this way. Actually that's good for me, I don't know why I'm telling you not to hope. Keep it up. Anyway, I just came here to tell you that we're almost here, so… you can cooperate, or you can be dragged there." Krizzen moved behind Hiccup to undo the chains. Once the chains were undone, Hiccup stood up and stretched. He was sitting in the chair for the last ten days or so, and his legs were stiff. He thought about making a run for it, but he didn't know the layout of the ship or where they were, so he decided against it and allowed Krizzen to blindfold him and rechain his hands and lead him off the ship.

He was led up a flight of stairs and out into the open air, and then off a gangplank that brought him onto a wooden harbour. The wooden harbour was flat for a while, before a flight of stairs appeared and took him up onto a rocky pathway. He followed the rocky pathway for a while, turning left, then right, then left again, before he reached a door. Hiccup could hear a wooden door being opened in front of him, and once the creaking stopped he was pushed roughly through the door into what felt like a cave. The air was musty, and through the blindfold he noticed that the light grew dimmer. He was led along the caves, turning right, then half right again, and finally left, before he heard another metallic door being opened. He was led through the doors again, and it was here where his blindfold was removed. He looked around. The cave was relatively spherical, and torches hung from the walls all around. Directly behind him was the metallic door that he was led through. The door was fully covered except for a small window at eye level. It was made from dragon-proof metal as well. In front of him were five prison cells. Each cell had barred doors and were made of metal. Krizzen dragged him into the first cell and undid his chains, before exiting the cell and locking the door behind him.

"Welcome to your new home," Krizzen mocked. "Enjoy your stay, and please be more cooperative when I ask you stuff, today was such a good day." With that, he turned around and exited through the metallic door. Hiccup heard a key locking the door, and the sound of footsteps receding.

He looked around his cell. It was more spacious than a normal cell. The front of the cell was about four meters, and the back wall of the cell was curved. A mat lay in the corner of the cell, which he assumed would be his bed. The floor of the cell was surprisingly clean and free of any rocks or debris of any sort. In fact, the stone that made up the floor and walls seemed to be smoothened. There were barely any cracks or protruding edges from the stone.

Hiccup sat in a corner near the back of the cell. He recalled the path to the docks, remembering the number of footsteps he took before each turn and which direction he turned. He needed this because it would make escaping this place a little easier. But as he was recalling, his mind wandered to what Krizzen said. _They think you're dead. _That's not possible, they wouldn't give up on him that easily. _So where are they now?_ Hiccup felt doubtful for a moment. Where were they? If they knew he was kidnapped, they should've been able to find him by now. Or maybe they were led astray, but even so they would be able to catch up eventually right?

He shook his head to clear these thoughts. _No! He's lying. They're searching for me right now. They'll be here, and until they come, I will not give up the Hidden World. Optimistic, gotta stay optimistic._

Meanwhile as Hiccup reached land, the Berk ships were approaching Berk. The scouts perched on the edge of the island spotted the ships approaching from a distance, and a group had gathered on the docks, waiting for the ships to reach. Among those gathered were Gustav, Spitelout, Valka, Bucket and Mulch, and Sven. The first ship to dock was the main ship, where most of the council were on.

"Morning Astrid!" Valka greeted her from the docks as the ship turned to allow the gangplank to be placed on the docks.

"Morning Valka," Astrid replied, slightly sulkily.

"What's wrong dear? Where's Hiccup?" Valka asked her, genuine concern on her face at both Astrid's downcast mood and the fact that Hiccup wasn't there.

"He's… he's…" Astrid began, but she stopped, her eyes lowering to stare at her feet.

"Can we gather the tribe into the Great Hall? I've something important to say," Zephyr intervened, much to the relief of Astrid.

Valka was confused, but sensing the solemn mood, she didn't pry. She simply nodded her head, and began to round up the villagers into the hall.

The hall was unusually quiet. It was not completely silent, but compared to how lively the hall usually is, it could be considered quiet. Most of the people had sensed the worry etched in Valka's face as she rounded up the people, and they didn't dare to make too much noise in the hall, fearing of any repercussions such as Astrid's axe flying towards their face. Astrid was unusually silent, and her face was filled with sadness, which was unlike her usual lively, cheerful self.

"Silence!" Eret shouted, silencing the already quite silent hall. All eyes turned to look at Eret for a moment, before they turned towards the centre of the council table. The seat where the chief occupied was empty, and Zephyr, the heir, was not sitting in her usual place beside the chief's spot. Instead, she was standing in front of the table, and by the side of the table stood Gothi. Although twenty years have passed since they came to New Berk, Gothi was still healthy, and she did not look any older.

Astrid rose from her seat. She hardened her face, and cleared any emotions that were welling in her. After composing herself, she began. "Today we are gathered in the Great Hall for an important meeting. I'm afraid that many of you wouldn't take the news well," she paused to allow the Berkians to brace themselves.

"It is with great sadness that I announce that our chief, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, son of Stoick the Vast, has passed into Valhalla."

There were collective gasps around the hall. Everyone was shocked. Some had looks of disbelief on their faces, while others were simply staring wide-eyed and mouth agape. A few turned to look at each other with equally shocked looks. There was a moment of complete silence. No one spoke. No one moved a muscle. No one dared to even breathe. They were all stunned at the news. After a while, sobs and murmurings could be heard. Astrid decided to let the Berkians have a moment to take in the news.

"How?" A brave soul called out from the crowd.

Astrid thought for a moment. "I'm not going to provide too many details at the moment. It's too much to take in."

There were more murmurings in the crowd. The murmurings were getting louder by the second, until…

"Silence!" Eret's voice rung through the hall again, silencing everyone. Nobody spoke, nobody even moved. They understood what Eret and the other council members were doing. A moment of silence in memory of their beloved chief. A moment to think about all he has done for them. He ended a 300 year war with the dragons, and improved their quality of life for about six years when the dragons lived in harmony with them. He had led them to this new island, which had a much better climate and more favourable living conditions. But most of all, he had been so selfless all this time. No matter what, he always placed the needs of the people above himself. He always gave his best for everyone. There wasn't a single person in that hall who could not recall a moment where Hiccup had helped them instead of helping himself. One of the most memorable ones was obviously when he had come to their rescue against the Red Death, and managed to kill it at the expense of his left leg. They took this moment of silence to reflect on all he has done for them, and the moment of silence continued to be observed for a while in respect and honour of him.

"We all know Hiccup," Astrid began. "We know how caring he is, how selfless he is, how encouraging he is. And we know all of his great feats.

"But now I ask you all, do you think he would want us to be demoralised by his passing? Do you think that he would want us to give up? Do you think he would want us to put all of our lives on hold? I can confidently say, that the Hiccup I know would want us to move on, to be stronger, and to build on his previous achievements. Yes, we would grief, and we would mourn his passing. But when we come to terms with it, and I know for a fact that this would be a very, very, _very_ difficult thing to do, we will learn from his character, take after his example, and we will be stronger with his attitude and mentality in all of us. It may take longer for some of us, but the Hiccup I know wouldn't want us to suffer forever, to grief forever. He would want us to accept it and move on. It will be tough, but together, we will be strong, and we will continue to build Berk up, with his goals in our minds."

It was definitely difficult for her to say that, especially since she hadn't gotten over his death, and probably wouldn't be able to for a long, long time. But she knew that what she said was true, that this would be what Hiccup wanted.

But she couldn't avoid the nagging feeling inside her that something was still quite wrong about the whole situation.

In front of the table, Gothi motioned for Zephyr to kneel down in front of her. Taking out a bowl filled with a black liquid, she dipped her finger in it, and drew the Berk symbol on her forehead. This symbolised the changing of chiefs. Zephyr was now the new chieftess of Berk. Rising to her feet, Zephyr turned to look at the crowd.

"To the chief!" Gobber shouted at the top of his lungs.

"To the chief!" The hall echoed.

There was loud cheering and hoots from the crowd. Although Hiccup's death took a toll on them, they knew that what Astrid said was right. Hiccup would want them to move on. And what better way to try and do so than to welcome in the new chief as loudly as they can.

After the cheering died down, Zephyr began a short speech. "Thank you all. I'm honoured to be your chief. My dad was a great leader, and it is truly a horrid thing that he was taken from us this early. I may not be as good as my dad, and I may not be able to emulate his example, but I seek your cooperation. Let's continue to build Berk up the way he would've wanted it, and together, we can achieve the Berk that he wanted."

Cheering erupted from the crowd. It was a positive sign that they were focusing more on Zephyr taking on the role of chief instead of Hiccup's passing. In fact, this was the case as well when Hiccup took over as chief after Stoick died. Astrid felt a sense of pride seeing her daughter take on the role of chief, the same sense of pride that she felt when Hiccup took over as chief all those years ago.

Speaking of whom, the nagging feeling returned to the back of her mind. There was something off about Hiccup's death. And she would do her best to find out why.


	6. Chapter 6: Never

**Reviews:**

**Nightfury/RicoRodrigues2018: Thank you! I'm still in the process of writing this, but I assure you I will finish the story. Your support means a lot to me!**

**Calvin: I've never watched any shows that he acted in, so I wouldn't know what his personality is like. But someone like Andy Samberg would fit the role well I think. **

Chapter 6: Never

On a cold, wintry day on New Berk, snow covered the ground and the wooden roofs of the houses. The wooden platforms were covered in snow as well. The winter had come slightly earlier this year. Being much further north than the Founders Tribe, the climate on Berk was colder. While it still rained on the Founders, on Berk it was snowing. Three days have passed since the tribe heard of the passing of their previous chief, and the instatement of Zephyr as chief. The past three days have been declared as days of mourning. On the first day, the traditional Viking funeral was performed again, but this time with the attendance of every single Berkian. The coastline was filled with Berkians watching as the arrows set the ship alight, and they all stayed until the final piece of wood went under the water. On the other two days work was cut short, and people were allowed to return home earlier, or start work later.

On this day, the fourth day, everything was returning to normal, and Zephyr sat at where Hiccup used to sit, looking at the paperwork on her desk. That would have to wait, because she was going to be writing letters to their allies to inform them of the passing of Hiccup. There would be one sent to the Berserkers, one to the Outcasts, and one to the Founders.

Writing the letters took longer than she expected. After about an hour though, she finally completed all the letters, and they were ready to be sent. The only issue was who to send. Being such an important letter, members of the council or high-ranking Berkians would usually be chosen for this. Eret could be trusted to send the letters to both the Berserkers and the Outcasts, since they were both in the same general direction, but there wasn't really anyone else who was as responsible as Eret, so who would be sent to the Founders…

"I'll go," a voice broke through her thoughts. Zephyr lifted her head towards the direction of the voice. Of course, she didn't need to do so because the voice was only too familiar, after all, she has heard the voice since she was a baby, but nonetheless her instincts told her to look up at whoever is speaking to her.

"Mom? Why do you want to go?" Sending her own mom back to the Founders Tribe was the last thing she wanted to do. She saw how badly affected Astrid was when she heard the news, and she didn't want her to relive any painful memories by sending her back, so it surprised her that Astrid was so willing to return back.

Astrid shrugged her shoulders. "I've a gut feeling about something. Something felt… off about Hiccup's death," she explained.

Zephyr looked at her mother for a while, contemplating what she said. For a moment, she considered following her, but Astrid continued, seemingly reading her mind. "You're needed here now that you're the chief. Let me take Gobber along, he can help me check it out."

After a while, Zephyr conceded. Passing Astrid the letter meant for the Founders, she said in a soft voice, "Please find out more about dad. I've felt this same feeling as well."

Astrid was glad to hear that she was not the only one who felt this way. Looking into her daughter's eyes, she gave a determined look. She took the letter and headed back out to prepare for the long journey. It was going to take two weeks to get there, and who knows how long they were going to stay there. But no matter how long it was going to take, she was determined to get to the bottom of this, either by finding Hiccup's body or whatever remains of it, or by some miracle, finding him alive and breathing.

XX

At the same time that the Berkians reached back on Berk, Hiccup reached the island. He has been locked in his cell for the last three days, and he was given just enough water to survive and no food at all. _At least on the ship I was given enough food_, he thought. It was at this point when he heard the metallic door open, and he turned his head to look in that direction.

Krizzen walked into the circular cavern, carrying something in his hands. He locked the door behind him and said something to the guard, but Hiccup didn't notice any of this. The only thing he was focused on was what Krizzen was carrying. He was carrying a plate of lamb chops and a glass of water, and to a starving and thirsty Hiccup, this was the only thing that mattered at the moment. His mouth couldn't water, as there was barely any saliva in his mouth, but he knew for a fact that his body reacted to the sight of the food.

Kneeling down and setting down the food outside Hiccup's cell, Krizzen spoke. "How are you doing? Have you had enough time to think of my proposition?"

Hiccup forced himself to stop thinking of the food and to focus on Krizzen. He hardened his face, and gave a cold glare. "What proposal?"

"I think it's fairly obvious. What does a starving prisoner want, and what do I want? We can make a trade, and we'll both be better off." Krizzen pushed the food and water slightly closer to Hiccup, but it was still out of his reach.

Hiccup desperately wanted the food and water, but he knew he couldn't risk revealing anything about the dragons. So instead he leaned back against the back wall, and kept looking at Krizzen. "I'm not saying anything, so you're just wasting your time here. Tell you what, I've a better proposal. Why don't you let me have the food and water, and then let me go before Berk gets here?"

Krizzen stood up and looked down at Hiccup. Placing both hands behind his back, he simply stated. "I've told you many times, you're on your own. You're dead. Make this easier on yourself, why don't you? Just tell me what I want to know, and you can take the food and water."

Every time Krizzen said that the Berkians think he's dead, Hiccup's heart would race. Never in his life, never in the many times that he was captured did Berk not come to his rescue. Every time there was at least one person searching for him or whoever was captured along with him. He refused to believe that everyone thought he was gone and no one was searching for him. But the longer his captivity dragged on, the more plausible Krizzen's words were. Shaking himself inside, he hardened his glare again, just in case his facade had dropped while his heart and mind raced with wild thoughts.

"Not happening. Thought you knew that by now. Besides, they should be here soon," Hiccup said.

"Oh well," Krizzen said, shrugging his shoulders and raising his palms up to his stomach level with his palms facing the sky. Turning around and giving Hiccup a glance over his back, he continued, "Just know that the food awaits you, and your release might be in store if I get what I want."

With that, he walked out the door and closed it behind him. Hiccup glared at the door for a while, before finally turning away. Without meaning to, he looked back down at the food and water. The smell was so invigorating, and the mere thought of being able to eat and drink made him even more hungry and thirsty. He reached his hand through the cell bars and tried desperately to reach for it. His fingers traced the ground, trying to get even closer to the food, but it remained just out of his reach. He eventually gave up and slunked with his back against the bars. Trying to ignore the aching in his stomach and the dryness in his throat, he tried to think of something else. For what was about the fiftieth time since he was locked up, he recalled the number of steps he took before each turn, and how many it should take him to run out of the cave, and how many steps it should take to get to the docks.

He kept trying to formulate an escape plan, when the door reopened. Krizzen walked in, along with two guards and a man in a hood. The light from the torch was behind the hooded man, causing his hood to cast a shadow over most of his facial features. The only thing Hiccup could see was his black French-cut beard and sharp jaw.

"Make sure he's ready when I reach," Krizzen said in a stern voice to the other three. The hooded man nodded, and Krizzen turned around and walked out of the room. Hiccup diverted his attention back to the three remaining people in the room. The hooded man turned to look at the guards, and they nodded at him. He in turn nodded back at them, and he left the room. The silence was unnerving. Hiccup didn't know what they intended to do, and that made him more anxious than normal. As soon as the hooded man was gone, the guards turned around to look at Hiccup. One of them brought out a set of keys, while the other withdrew a sword. The first guard unlocked Hiccup's cell, and with a tilt of his head, he motioned for Hiccup to follow him. Hiccup gingerly rose to his feet, and he walked out of his cell. As he walked past the food and water, he quickly knelt down and used his left hand to grab the glass of water and his right hand to grab the lamb chop. The guards didn't seem to mind him taking the food and water, and they allowed him to eat and drink as they walked. He felt refreshed as the cool water touched his parched throat, and the aching in his stomach subsided a little when the food entered his stomach. Three days without food and barely any water can definitely make a man come close to breaking.

They walked out of the circular chamber and into the tunnels. The tunnels were dim as well, barely lit by the torches that hung from the sides. It was wide and high, and the walls were relatively smooth, albeit a little rougher than those inside the cell. For a moment Hiccup considered running away, but in his hungry and dehydrated state he thought better of it. They went along the tunnel until they reached a four way junction. The guards led him to the right side, where they reached a wooden door at the end. The first guard opened the door, and Hiccup dutily obeyed. The room was well lit, and there was a wooden desk directly in the middle of the room. A wooden chair with a layer of fur draped over it lay on the farther side of the table, and on the side nearer the door was a smaller wooden chair. The table had a bunch of papers scattered randomly over it, and on one side of the table a few books were stacked. To the left of the room lay a bookshelf, where a few books and papers lay. Directly behind the table pinned on the wall was a large map. Hiccup was about to take a better look at the map when Krizzen walked in.

"Please, take a seat," he gestured to the wooden chair in front of him. Hiccup didn't see any sense in not doing so, so he obliged. Krizzen was carrying a pot in his hand and two cups. He sat on the larger chair across the table and poured two cups of steaming hot tea, and pushed a cup to Hiccup. Hiccup didn't trust the tea one bit, and looked at it suspiciously. Krizzen noticed this, and chuckled. "I'm not going to poison you, I need you alive and well," he assured him. Reaching forward, he took Hiccup's cup and took a sip. He placed it back in front of Hiccup, and used his hand to point to the cup, as if indicating that the cup was cleared from poison. Hiccup didn't see any reason to further disbelieve him, and his throat was still very dry from all the lack of water, so he took the cup and sipped.

Krizzen waited until Hiccup was satisfied and set the cup back on the table, before he leaned forward on the table and started. "I thought we could have a nice little chat. I really don't see why you keep protecting the dragons, or even use them to your own gain yourself. I mean, they aren't invincible, but having so many dragons can definitely be a great advantage. You even have the alpha! Why don't you use them at all?"

Hiccup took a moment to think about Krizzen's words, and to select his words carefully. Eventually, he realised that telling the truth would be the best option, and maybe he could even win Krizzen over. "Having them was a great advantage definitely. For six years we lived with them, and we even trained them to fight with us. We defended against dragon hunters, and even used them to attack the hunters and free dragons. But eventually it became too much for us. Our enemies were getting stronger, and after Grimmel's attack we realised that we could no longer protect the dragons, and they were safer in the Hidden World.

"Trying to use them to conquer the world wouldn't work. There will always be hunters that will be stronger, and eventually you wouldn't be able to control their attacks too. Trust me, you won't get far even with the dragons."

Krizzen leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. He seemed to be in thought, and it was a while before he spoke. "Have you ever used the dragons to attack?"

Hiccup was shocked by this question. He didn't expect Krizzen to ask him this question at all. He thought for a moment, and said, "Yes. We attacked dragon hunter ships and bases to free dragons, and we attacked the main camp-"

"No no no no," Krizzen interrupted quickly. "Have you ever used them to attack and conquer? Not just a simple 'I'll attack until the dragons are free, then I leave you alive to come and hunt me down again' type of attack. I mean the type of attack that lets you overrun your enemy, kill everyone, take over their base. Have you?"

"Obviously not," Hiccup said indignantly. "We never use the dragons for harmful means, only to try and achieve peace."

"Have you ever thought that to achieve peace," Krizzen paused and leaned forward on the table again, "you need to have a war?"

"Nope, it's not necessary. We have peace with any dragon hunters now and as far as I'm concerned sending them to the Hidden World didn't take a war," Hiccup replied sarcastically.

"Then why are you facing me?" Krizzen asked, staring straight into Hiccup's eyes. Both men stared straight into each other's eyes, Hiccup with a look of indignance, and Krizzen with a questioning look that seemed to demand an answer from Hiccup. They remained locked in this position for a while, before Krizzen dipped his head slightly and closed his eyes. Chuckling, he leaned back in his chair, and after looking back at Hiccup with an amused grin, he continued. "I'll tell you why. It's because you didn't start a war.

"If you started a war and actually killed your enemies, dragon hunters will reconsider attacking. Sure, there will always be the occasional ones who attack randomly, but if you kill, you don't leave many behind who could start another fight with you. Your enemies will die, one by one, and eventually you'll be left in peace. Isn't this quite logical? The war may not end quickly, maybe not even in your lifetime. But you'll be creating a better world for your descendants, don't you think?"

Hiccup visibly recoiled at his words. Being a peace-loving person, this school of thought was not only flawed in his opinion, but it disgusted and repulsed every single fibre of his living being. He screwed up his face, both in confusion and disgust at what Krizzen just said. His usual sarcastic personality disappeared, and his voice was filled with shock and disgust.

"No! What is wrong- I don't even- What in Thor's name makes you think that, let alone think that is remotely close to the truth?"

"Let me tell you a story," Krizzen said. "A story from where I come from. I come from a place in the east, a place called China by many from outside that area. Chinese mythology always told tales of dragons, and they were symbols of power, strength, and good fortune. For many generations, we were told these were myths, but nonetheless there were always those who held on to the hope that these myths were based on truths.

"Many generations and centuries passed, and no one ever saw a dragon. But all that changed one day when a small boy was out in the forests playing where his parents told him not to. He kept wandering further and further, until he encountered something that was glowing. They looked like tiny balls, but they were glowing red and yellow. He wanted to get a closer look, but then he suddenly noticed that there were wild animals eyeing the same thing, and were slowly advancing to try and get it. On instinct, he grabbed a large rock and hurled it at the closest animal. It struck the animal right in the head, killing it instantly. The other animals looked at the dead animal, which seemed to be their leader. Seeing that it was dead, they bolted in various directions, and the glowing balls were safe. The boy reverted his attention to the glowing balls. He reached forward to pick up one, when he heard a hissing behind him. He turned around, and a red and yellow dragon materialised in front of his eyes. It was long and thick, and looked a lot like what you guys call a Slitherwing, except that it had Changewing scales. It looked menacingly at the boy, who just tried to touch her eggs, but when she realised that the boy had actually protected her eggs, her eyes widened and her look softened. She nuzzled her head against the very shocked and very frightened boy. He didn't expect to meet a dragon at all. This was the first time that anyone met a dragon in China. He brought the dragon back to his village, and being a symbol of good fortune, the people welcomed the dragon readily. Of course, it became a sensation, and news spread relatively quickly around the whole country. Within a year, almost the entire country knew about the dragon sighting. Over the course of the next few years, more and more people began to see and tame dragons. Eventually, the many provinces of China began to have many of their own dragons.

"But peace didn't last for long. Soon people began to realise that dragons could be used as weapons. Provinces used dragons to attack and conquer other provinces. Soon the village that originally found the dragons were under attack. But since they found the dragons first, they had more experience, and they were able to defend their village. But the attacks kept coming, and it was reaching the point where they spent more time rebuilding after attacks than actually caring for the village.

"It wasn't long before the boy realised that the only way to get true peace was to eliminate their enemies. So the village began to attack, taking over many villages and provinces in their attempt to achieve true peace. This lasted for decades, and the village became a real force to be reckoned with. They managed to conquer most of China, and only a few regions remained out of their rule. It seemed like an easy task to conquer the remaining regions, but there was only one problem.

"The dragons were leaving. Slowly but surely, the dragons decreased in number. There were days where a group of them would take to the skies, never to return again. After many years, the final dragon left the region. The people who had their provinces conquered decided to start a revolt, and the ruling province, which came from the village, had no dragons to defend themselves with, so they were defeated easily. The boy, who was a grandfather and the leader of the province by then, was executed by the victors. The victors were ruthless, and they made sure that not only did the boy suffer a painful death, they also executed every one of his family members, children, grandchildren, everyone. Everyone was executed in front of his eyes before they killed him slowly. They thought that that was the end of his bloodline, that they would be able to have peace. But they didn't realise that one of his grandchildren survived.

"The one survivor told me all these stories, and hearing this as a boy, I made it my duty to complete what he set out to do, to conquer not only all of China, but the entire world using the dragons, so that true peace can be experienced in the world."

Hiccup listened to Krizzen's story earnestly. He was amazed at what he heard, and he was beginning to think about what Krizzen said. While what Krizzen preached seemed like a noble thing, it was definitely wrong. Using dragons to conquer the world, although with the intentions to achieve peace, was definitely wrong. There was one thing that puzzled Hiccup though...

"Why are you so determined to fulfil that boy's mission?" Hiccup asked.

Krizzen let out a sigh. He looked up into Hiccup's eyes, and then he looked away, sadness filling his eyes. Closing his eyes, he finally said,

"That one remaining survivor is my grandfather."

Silence.

His grandfather.

His great great grandfather was mercilessly executed.

Hiccup was taken aback by this revelation. Krizzen's own family, Krizzen's grandfather watched as his own grandfather was mercilessly executed. It was no wonder that Krizzen wanted to complete what his great great grandfather set out to do.

After a while, Krizzen slowly opened his eyes. He slowly turned to look at Hiccup, eyes filled with pleading desperation. This moment lasted for a short while only though, and his usual smirk returned on his face.

Slamming his fist on the table suddenly, he spoke with firmness and gusto, but also with a tinge of sadness. "I have a proposal for you Hiccup. You've heard my story, and I'm sure you understand why I gotta do this, why I gotta get the dragons. I have many tactics on how to use the dragons, and I've a device that I can use to control them and make them obey me. My plans never fail, and they won't start failing. You can trust me. All I need is where the dragons are. We can conquer the world together, and get that peace that you always wanted. I don't want to rule the world, I only want the peace that comes with it. Berk can rule the world. As long as I am able to fulfil what my ancestor set out to do, I will be satisfied. What do you say? I will help you to conquer the world, and you can rule over it, with the peace that you wanted finally achieved."

Hiccup pondered his request for a moment. For a brief moment, he considered accepting it. He thought of Krizzen's story, that he was doing it for his family, to fulfil what his family set out to do. He thought of his own people, the people of Berk. They would not need to suffer any more, and they can be reunited with their dragon friends. He thought of his own family, Astrid, Zephyr, Nuffink, Valka. He could finally see them again, and put an end to his suffering and their grief. But his sanity returned, and the thought of accepting Krizzen's offer faded. With a stern look, Hiccup responded. "Never. I will never give up the dragons, because your way of achieving peace is flawed. We have had peace for twenty years with my peaceful way of achieving peace."

Hiccup noticed that Krizzen glanced above him for a brief moment, and immediately looked back at him. With a sigh, Krizzen began to speak. "Well, I tried to get you to help me. I thought that maybe sharing my story would win you, but alas, it was not meant to be. It's been nice talking to you, and it's a real shame you don't want to be partners. I guess we have to do it this way."

Krizzen looked up and nodded. Before Hiccup could process what this could mean, a strong pair of arms reached under his armpits. With lightning quick speed, Hiccup's arms were wrenched backwards and upwards slightly, and the strong pair of hands clamped onto the back of his neck, locking his hands and neck in position. He was yanked out of the chair, and turned around with such force that he almost fell, but the strong arms prevented him from doing so. A foot was rammed into the back of Hiccup's right knee, forcing him to fall to his knees. As Hiccup was wincing against the pain in his knees, his head was pushed down, straight into a bucket filled with cold seawater. He didn't have time to recover from the shock of being yanked around so hard so he inhaled a large amount of salty seawater. The water burned his lungs, and he panicked. Drowning was one of his biggest fears, having almost drowned when saving the Submaripper. He kept trying to draw in oxygen, but each time he took a breath he ended up inhaling more salt water. He thrashed and thrashed, but with his arms locked behind him and his legs clamped tightly together the thrashing wasn't doing much good. The pain in his lungs continued, increasing every time he inhaled more water. His body was struggling to get oxygen, and he could feel himself slowly lose consciousness as every desperate attempt to draw oxygen failed miserably and caused him to inhale even more water. Suddenly, his head was raised out of the water, and he coughed out water. Drawing a sharp breath, he inhaled air for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He kept coughing out water, and inhaling oxygen.

"What's the closest island to the Hidden World?" Krizzen asked. He was kneeling on one knee beside Hiccup, and he looked straight into Hiccup's face.

"Not happen-" Before Hiccup could finish his retort, his head was plunged straight back into the water. Having been stopped mid-sentence, he hadn't drawn in a breath, and so his instincts kicked in and forced him to inhale. Bad idea. He drew in a full mouthful of water, causing his lungs to burn again. He struggled for air again, with each attempt earning him another mouthful of water and a whole lot of pain. The constant cycle of trying to inhale air and ending up inhaling water kept going for a while, before he felt consciousness leaving him. His thrashing slowed, and the darkness beckoned him to come. The darkness was a place where this torment would end, and he would be in peace. But before he could attain this rest, his head was yanked out of the water again.

"I'll ask again, where are the dragons?" Krizzen taunted. Hiccup was desperately coughing out water and breathing in, and talking was too much of an effort. Nonetheless he still coughed out a "no" in between breaths. Krizzen was unhappy with this, and with a hand signal, Hiccup's head was plunged under water again. He struggled for air, and the struggle was made worse since he didn't manage to recover yet. After a short while, his head was removed from the water again.

"Where. Are. The. Dragons?" Krizzen asked, pausing between each word for effect. Hiccup coughed up water, and spat it at Krizzen's feet. He didn't have enough air to formulate a response, and this was the most aggressive thing that he could think of.

Immediately, his head was plunged underwater once again. Barely having time to breathe the last time his head was raised, he couldn't find the energy to struggle to stay conscious, and before he knew it he was slipping into unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 7: Hopeful and Hopeless

**A/N: Sorry, no time to reply to reviews this week. I'll do it next week**

Chapter 7: Hopeful and Hopeless

The wind blew against their backs, sweeping through their hair and letting the cold air blow against their faces. It was almost two weeks into winter, but since the Founders were much further south than Berk, the temperatures were warmer. Nonetheless, Astrid and Gobber wore thick fur coats to keep out the cold. The coastline of the Founders Tribe was in sight just a week into their trip. Gobber had suggested taking the speedboat, and Astrid was more than willing to do so. The wind conditions were very favourable to them also, which helped them to cut their journey by a whole week. Astrid was glad to see their destination in sight. She was itching to begin the search, and she hoped that Kari would help her in doing so. Gobber was feeling exactly the same. Ever since Astrid told him what she was feeling, Gobber was more than happy to join her in the search for his own mentee. They promised to get to the bottom of this, and if they couldn't find Hiccup alive, which would be a miracle itself, they were hoping to find some sort of closure.

When they reached the docks, a small party had gathered. Kari was standing at the front, and she had a solemn look on her face.

"Welcome back, Astrid and Gobber. I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. May I ask what is the reason for your visit?" She seemed unusually solemn, which was unlike how she was the last time they came over. Astrid presumed that this was because of Hiccup's death occurring on their island, so she tried to clear the air.

"Thanks Kari. We're here to pass you this," she pulled the letter out of a bag and passed it to Kari. "Don't worry about us, we're coping with his death well." Upon saying these words, Astrid realised that she had not worded them in the best way.

Kari didn't seem to mind, and she understood what Astrid was trying to say. A smile appeared on her face, and she looked more relaxed. She had hid her normal personality in the fear that it would offend the Berkians, because it wasn't a good thing if one's chief dies on your island and you were smiling at them when they next visited.

Kari took the letter in her hands, and she began reading it. She took a moment to read the words, and once she was done, she passed it to Rallen and told him to place it in her office. Rallen obliged and left immediately.

Astrid decided that this was the right time to ask Kari. "Kari, can you do us a favour?" Kari turned to look at them. "Sure, what do you need?"

"We want to search the woods for any clues. I just can't shake the feeling that there is something wrong with the way Hiccup died. If anything, I just want closure. I want to find him alive, but if that's not possible then…" she hesitated for a moment. "I just want some closure."

Kari had a sympathetic look in her eyes. "The woods is a dangerous place," she said. "Please take care of yourselves. If you need any assistance, feel free to ask me, I'm more than willing to help you."

"Thanks Kari," Astrid replied. Kari led them to the guest houses. Worried that the guest houses that they stayed in may cause bad memories, she led them to guest houses that were on the other side of the island. These houses were also nearer to the entrance to the woods, which allowed them to do their searches with greater ease.

As soon as Astrid and Gobber had left their belongings in the houses, they set off on their search. They decided to meet at the place where the teens found Hiccup's bloodied and damaged clothes and armour. Astrid brought along her trusty battleaxe, while Gobber had swapped his hook for a hammer. They both carried shields as well, just in case they encountered any wolves that attacked Hiccup.

"Let's stay together," Astrid said. "If we meet any wolves or any other threats it's better if we face it together."

"Gotcha lass," Gobber replied.

"Let's head along this trail first," Astrid suggested, pointing to a small trail that was partially covered with dead leaves and branches. "It looks like this is an actual path. If Hiccup had indeed gone exploring this is the most convenient path."

They began walking down the path, their eyes peeled for any potential clue or sign that Hiccup might have passed through the area. The fact that it has been three weeks since Hiccup died made the search a lot tougher, but nonetheless they were determined to find something, anything, that might help them to find some sort of closure. Kari said that it has rained twice since they left, but it wasn't that heavy. Some heavily sheltered parts of the woods may still have small traces of footsteps. Besides, they were searching in the middle of the afternoon, and the light was strong which can help them spot any peculiarities. The fact that it didn't snow definitely helped their case.

Suddenly, they heard a roar. The roar wasn't loud, but it wasn't silent either. It was audible enough for Astrid and Gobber to be sure that it wasn't a figment of their imagination. The roar left them shocked, not because it was a menacing roar and they feared for their lives, and _definitely_ not because it was unfamiliar to them and they weren't sure what type of animal it came from. The only reason why they were shocked was because they were sure that they wouldn't hear these type of roars any more. Well, at least they thought they wouldn't hear any more of these types of roars ever since a particular incident occurred twenty years ago.

The roar came from a dragon.

Astrid and Gobber sprinted towards the sound, trying to spot the dragon that made that roar. They tore through the shrubs and low-hanging branches, and jumped over ditches and other small pitfalls that would slow them down. Astrid was in front by a bit, and she was clearing the path by using her axe to cut anything in their path. Gobber followed closely behind, running extremely fast for a person with only one leg. Eventually, their sprint led them to a small clearing by a rocky cliff side. There was a small slope up to the edge of the cliff, and both Berkians ran up to the edge of the cliff as quickly as they could, trying to find the source of the sound.

But they saw nothing.

They scanned the area, trying to find any sign that there was a dragon present. Both Astrid and Gobber shared a look that meant the same thing. _There was no way that was my imagination, right? There's definitely a dragon nearby!_ They looked at the ground, trying to find any footprints. Astrid looked on the left side of the clearing, while Gobber checked the right.

"Gobber! Come here!" Astrid exclaimed suddenly, pointing to the floor. Gobber rushed to her side, and followed her finger to the floor. There was a single footprint in the soil, right beside the rocks on the edge of the cliff.

"Seems like someone was trying ta' avoid stepping on tha' soil," Gobber remarked.

"He was headed towards the edge of the cliff, towards the sound," Astrid added. They looked around, trying to spot more footprints, but there was none.

"Let's follow tha' rocks towards where he might'a came from," Gobber suggested. Astrid nodded her agreement, and they began following the edge of the cliff along the rocks. But their search did not yield results. The rocky edge ended quickly in both directions, and the soil surrounding the rocky edge had no footprints at all.

Astrid and Gobber refused to give up though, and they kept searching until the sun began to descend below the horizon line and it became too dark to see anything. Reluctantly, they began to retrace their steps, and headed back to their guest houses.

XX

Hiccup's eyes were closed, his mind busy visualising the plan he formulated. Ever since he was half drowned to death, he had made up his mind to escape. Talking to Krizzen wouldn't make a difference, he decided. Motivation to fulfil your own family's goals cannot be removed easily.

Krizzen, on the other hand, believed that Hiccup would join his side sooner or later. It just had to happen. After Hiccup heard his moving story - well he found it moving - there was no way he wouldn't join him. He even gave him the chance to lead the world, and he didn't intend to break this promise. So to further convince Hiccup to join him, he decided that instead of using force and torture, he would show him kindness. He made up his mind that the drowning was the last time he would use torture. So Hiccup has been well fed the last few days, and he had more than enough water to keep him hydrated for the next few months.

This aided Hiccup. It helped him a lot. With food in his stomach and water soothing his throat, he had the chance to think. And think he did. He spent the last week watching the guards, studying their routine and any tools they may have on them that could help him. He formulated an escape route, on how to make it to the docks without being detected. He had everything planned to the T, all except for one part, which was arguably the toughest part of all.

How would he convince a guard to open his cell door? They never entered his cell, and whenever they gave him food, they left it at an arm's length away from the bars. Near enough for him to reach it, but far enough to prevent him from touching the guard. This part had stumped him for a few days, and he could not figure out a way to get past this obstacle.

Until yesterday. Krizzen had brought him out of his cell into his office for a chat exactly like what he did a week ago, which Hiccup found quite pointless since it basically involved Krizzen doing all the talking and convincing while Hiccup kept repeating that he wouldn't join him. Eventually Krizzen gave up and led him back to his cell in chains. Two guards accompanied him back to the cell, but it was Krizzen alone who entered the circular chamber and undid his chains before locking him in his cell. That's where the final part of his plan lay. The guards didn't know, or rather he hoped they didn't notice that Krizzen undid his chains. He planned to use this to his advantage, and he'll be able to get out of here…

His visualisation came to a stop by a guard opening the door to the circular chamber. As he fumbled with the lock, Hiccup quickly sat up against the back of the cell and placed both his hands behind his back. He had taken off his prosthetic leg, which would be a key element of his plan.

The guard entered the circular room and placed Hiccup's dinner an arm's length from the cell bars as usual. As the guard rose to his feet, Hiccup set his plan into motion.

"That's great," Hiccup said. "But how am I supposed to get the food with my hands chained behind my back?"

The guard looked at Hiccup. Anxiety filled Hiccup. _Did the guard know that Krizzen took off my chains? _After a nerve wrecking moment, the guard finally spoke. "Come over here, I'll take them off."

"I would," Hiccup replied. "But my leg is over there." He used his chin to point to his prosthetic leg which lay a good distance away from him.

Sighing, the guard took out the keys to the cell. He unlocked the cell, and walked over to Hiccup. Bending down onto one knee at Hiccup's left side, he took out the keys to remove his chains, when suddenly Hiccup swung his left fist at the guard's head with such speed that the guard didn't have time to react. Hiccup's fist struck the guard on the side of his head, knocking his head down towards Hiccup's outstretched legs and stunning him. As the guard fell, Hiccup raised his right knee rapidly, connecting against the other side of the guard's head with a loud thud. The guard fell onto the floor, unconscious. Hiccup took a moment to catch his breath, and then he cringed at what he just did. He wasn't one to use violence, but desperate times require desperate solutions. He rose to his feet, well, foot, and hopped to his prosthetic. He put it on quickly, and walked back to the guard while tearing off the thin layer of fabric on his body that Krizzen could somehow call 'clothing'. He stripped the guard and put his clothes on himself, and took his sword as well. Taking the keys from the floor, he locked the cell and began unlocking the door to the chamber. Heart racing, he walked through the dragon-proof door freely for the first time. He hoped the guards on the outside of the door wouldn't notice him. He walked calmly past the guard, because he knew the easiest way to attract attention was to act nervous.

The guard didn't seem to notice that Hiccup had walked out, in fact he didn't even look in Hiccup's direction. Hiccup heaved a silent sigh of relief. The first part of his plan was completed, now on to the next…

"THE PRISONER!" The guard suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs. "THAT'S A METAL LEG!" The guard had heard the click of Hiccup's prosthetic against the stone floor, and shouted for backup. Hiccup cursed under his breath. Spinning on his heel, he drew his sword and charged at the guard. The guard reacted by drawing his sword, but he wasn't fast enough and Hiccup managed to kick the side of the guard's left knee and cause him to fall flat on the floor before he drew his sword. As the guard struggled to get up, Hiccup rammed the hilt of his sword against the guard's head, knocking him unconscious. With that done, he turned around and sprinted down the caves. He ran along the path that he visualised so many times, turning right where he turned left on the way to his cell, then turning half left, and finally turning left a final time to find himself on the tunnel that led to the wooden door that separated the caves from the open air. As he ran down the curved tunnel, he heard the sounds of footsteps behind him. He kept running without looking back, knowing that doing so would slow him down. The final curve was just ahead of him, and after that he would see the wooden door that would lead him into the open air. He rounded the corner…

Only to find at least five guards standing at the door waiting for him to arrive. Hiccup skidded to a stop, eyes filled with fear. He hadn't expected this. _How did Krizzen mobilise so many guards so quickly? It wasn't even two minutes since the guard shouted. _Hiccup backed off slowly, while the guards advanced slowly. Suddenly, Hiccup turned around and sprinted down the path he came from. But barely two seconds later he skidded to another stop. He was greeted by another five guards as he rounded the corner. Hiccup was cornered. Both sets of guards slowly advanced on him. Knowing that fighting ten armed guards was a bad idea, he kept backing off, until he felt the cold stone wall against his back. He stayed on guard despite the situation, and prayed for an intervention. The guards kept advancing, and Hiccup feared for his life. But suddenly they stopped. A slow clap came from the tunnel that he just ran down. Krizzen emerged, clapping his hands.

"Well done Hiccup," he said. "My ally told me that you always had an uncanny ability to escape any situation. I was doubtful, but I guess I was wrong to doubt. Thank goodness I heeded his advice and left these guys around the tunnels."

"You left ten guards to patrol the tunnels… just because of me?" Hiccup asked. Despite the situation, he couldn't help feel amused that Krizzen thought so highly of his abilities.

"Yep," Krizzen stated. With a disappointed sigh, he continued. "You know, I tried doing things the peaceful way, and slowly win you over by being kind to you. But I guess that was the wrong move too. That ship has sailed Hiccup, and you can't blame anyone else but yourself for this. If you chose to join me I wouldn't be doing this."

"I'll never join you," Hiccup spat.

"Then so be it. Get him."

The ten guards advanced on him all of a sudden. Hiccup raised his sword to defend himself, but a simultaneous hammer and sword strike from two guards on his left quickly disarmed him. The sword strike forced him to parry, and in doing so he had to raise his sword. This gave the guard with the hammer the chance to strike the hilt of Hiccup's sword, knocking it out of his hand. Hiccup jerked in the direction of the hit as his sword flew out of his hand, and before he knew it the rest of the guards had managed to grab his two hands and chain them behind his back. He was led back down the tunnel he just came from, but instead of heading towards Krizzen's office, he was led into a small room that had chains hanging from the ceiling, much like the chamber in the ship. His hands were cuffed to those chains, and his shirt was torn off. Once again he felt vulnerable; both hands stretched high above his head, and with his bare skin exposed.

Krizzen walked in shortly, carrying a cloth bag in his hand. He sat in a chair and placed the bag on the table. Reaching into the bag, he took out a silvery grey powder in his hand.

"Do you know what this is?" Krizzen asked.

Hiccup stayed silent.

"I don't think so," Krizzen continued. "Where I come from, this stuff is very useful. It loosely translates to gunpowder in Norse. We generally use it to make stuff that improve our lives, but I've a different use for it."

He replaced the powder in the cloth bag, and pulled out a small cloth ball. The ball had a very small metal strip on one side, and it was small enough to clutch in one hand. With one quick hand movement, Krizzen swiped the metal part against the metal table, and immediately flung the ball at Hiccup's bare chest. The ball struck him squarely in the chest and much to Hiccup's surprise, it exploded into flames. The flames licked the exposed skin that came into contact with the ball, creating red burn marks on his chest and causing great pain to Hiccup. But just as quickly as the flames came, it extinguished, leaving Hiccup's burnt chest exposed to the cold air in the cave and leaving Hiccup with a lot of pain. Despite the pain, he refused to cry out, and merely let out a hiss.

Krizzen refused to relent. He threw more of these balls at Hiccup. One struck him on another part of his chest, another struck him on a part that was already burnt, and the last one struck him on his left cheek. Hiccup hissed in pain, resisting the urge to cry out and give Krizzen the satisfaction of watching him suffer. Krizzen, seemingly satisfied with what he has done, walked over to Hiccup's side and hissed in his ear. "Your only hope of making it out alive is by telling me the location of the Hidden World."

Hiccup glared into Krizzen's eyes. He ignored the pain and focused on Krizzen's words. With a growl, he replied angrily. "You'll never get anything from me. Berk will get me, and you'll be done for."

Krizzen took a step back. "You believe Berk is still coming, don't you?"

There was a knock on the door. Krizzen opened the door, and took something from the hands of the man who was at the door. Krizzen whispered something to him, but Hiccup couldn't make out what he was saying. The man also whispered back to Krizzen. Whatever it was, it seemed to please Krizzen, as his smile became wider and wider. Finally, he closed the door and looked back at Hiccup. There was a piece of paper in his hand.

Taking out a set of keys, Krizzen undid the chains holding Hiccup's right hand up. His left hand still remained upright however. Passing the paper to Hiccup, Krizzen taunted. "Read this. Let's see if you still believe that your beloved Berk is still coming for you. I warned you before."

Hiccup glared at Krizzen one more time before diverting his attention to the paper. It was folded in the middle, and Hiccup unfolded it with his right hand. There really wasn't anything that could convince him that Berk wasn't coming, and although he did worry about the fact that they were taking so long, he believed that they would be here eventually.

Until he saw the contents of the paper.

The Berk crest was imprinted on the top left of the paper. The crest was imprinted with ink, which was reserved for official documents only. The handwriting was one that he would recognise from afar, and there was no doubt in his mind whose handwriting it was.

It was his daughter's handwriting.

_To the Founders Tribe:_

_Dear Chief Kari,_

_It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the passing of our beloved chief, our very own chief that managed to end the war between humans and dragons. _

_Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third passed on into Valhalla a week into winter. _

_We will always remember his legacy, and will strive to uphold the good image of Berk that he has constructed. We hope that you will continue to be our allies, not for our sakes, but for Hiccup's sake. He has united our tribes for the greater good, and I know that he would want us to continue to remain as allies. Thus I seek your understanding and hope that you would stay as our allies. _

_Thank you for your continuous support, and may our continued alliance be in honour of the one we will always love and will always remember, one Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. _

_Regards,_

_Chief of Berk:_

_Zephyr Haddock_

Chief of Berk.

Zephyr Haddock.

Hiccup passed on into Valhalla.

_But I'm still alive! I'm not dead yet! But Berk really thinks I'm dead_.

_Berk thinks I'm dead_.

Suddenly, he felt weak all over. His knees buckled, and he slumped to the side, his chained left hand preventing him from hitting the floor. Krizzen noticed this and walked over to him.

"See? I told you so."

Hiccup didn't hear a word he said. The reality hit him harder than a Gronckle charging him at full speed. _Berk thinks I'm dead. _He slumped unceremoniously to the floor when Krizzen undid the last chain. His hands were free, but he didn't have any strength to lift himself up and escape. He lay on the floor for a while, even after Krizzen left the chamber.

_Berk thinks I'm dead. _

_Berk isn't coming. _

_I'm alone. _

_Alone. _


	8. Chapter 8: It's Out

**Reviews and A/N at the bottom**

Chapter 8: It's Out

A few hours later, Krizzen returned back to the chamber. Unlocking the door, he saw one of the most pitiful sights he has ever seen. Hiccup was sitting in a corner of the chamber with his knees tucked against his chest. His arms were wrapped around both knees, and he kept his head dipped in the embrace of his arms. Krizzen couldn't see clearly, but he was sure that Hiccup was crying.

"What's the matter, the truth too much to handle?" he taunted.

The moment Hiccup realised that Krizzen had returned, he quickly got to his feet and glared straight into his eyes. Krizzen noticed that his eyes were red, and tear stains were evident on his cheeks. But in spite of all his sorrow Hiccup refused to show weakness. He maintained the glare while Krizzen merely returned a playful look, a wide smile on his face.

"You know you can go back home and see them if you just tell me where the dragons are," Krizzen said.

"Even if they think I'm dead, I'm not telling you anything," Hiccup replied with a firm voice.

"Fine, suit yourself," Krizzen said. He walked over to Hiccup and grabbed his shoulder. Hiccup didn't try to escape as Krizzen led him by the shoulder to another chamber nearby, knowing that there were at least ten guards in the tunnels, and he wouldn't stand a chance without a weapon. This chamber had a flat wooden platform that was large enough for someone to lie on. There were metal chains on the platform at where one's hands and feet would be. There were a few guards in the room already, and they wasted no time in grabbing Hiccup and chaining his hands and feet to the platform. His arms were stretched to both sides with his palms facing upwards, and his feet were shoulder width apart. The chains were so tight that he couldn't move them an inch. A blindfold was placed over his eyes, preventing any light from entering his eyes at all.

"Remember Hiccup, this wouldn't end until you tell me where the dragons are. I don't care how you indicate the location of the Hidden World, you can say how far it is from Berk, or what's the bearing from Berk, and any nearby islands or anything that comes to your mind. But if it's not clear, you're staying here. Ooh that rhymes," Krizzen told Hiccup.

"That's nice to know. Wake me up when you change your mind. This platform is quite comfortable," Hiccup replied sarcastically. He had recovered slightly from the shock of realising that Berk wasn't coming from him, and his usual sass was coming back to him.

Krizzen didn't reply. He placed thick cotton balls inside Hiccup's ears and wrapped the balls tightly with a cloth around his head, preventing him from hearing anything. A wad of cloth was also placed in his mouth and a cloth tied around his mouth, effectively gagging him and preventing him from saying anything. Hiccup felt his head being straightened, and a final chain was placed around his forehead, preventing him from moving his head from left to right.

Hiccup didn't know what was in store for him, but he didn't really mind. He didn't think that Krizzen would inflict harm on him, and as long as that didn't happen there wasn't the risk of him accidentally revealing anything. In fact, he could try to go to sleep…

_Drip. _

A drop of water landed squarely on his forehead. He felt the water droplet slide down the side of his forehead. _What was that for? How is that supposed to…_

_Drip. _

Another drop landed at the exact same place as the previous drop. The drop slid down his forehead as well, wetting his head and hair. He seriously doubted the effectiveness…

_Drip. _

A third drop. At the exact same place. He didn't really worry though. He could still think straight, and nothing was really convincing him to reveal…

_Drip. _

It was getting annoying at this point of time. The drops landed at the exact same spot every time. But it still didn't affect…

_Drip. _

_Drip. _

_Drip. _

_Drip. _

Minutes turned into hours, and the drops kept falling. He felt that one spot on his forehead becoming numb. Numb to the feeling of the drops landing on his forehead. He wanted to move his hand to rub that spot, but he couldn't move his hand at all, not a single bit. He wanted to move something, anything, but he could only move his toes and his fingers, which didn't do any good since he still couldn't feel anything besides the cold air.

_Drip. _

He was finally beginning to realise the effectiveness of this torture. He didn't have a moment's respite from the water drops, and he was slowly losing the ability to even feel the water droplets on his forehead. He didn't have time to think about anything before…

_Drip. _

That happened again. He desperately wanted to cry out, to be able to feel something, but he couldn't. His forehead was numb to the sensation of the water droplets by this point. He tried to compensate by using his other senses…

_Drip. _

He realised that he couldn't use his other senses as well. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't hear anything. There was no distinct smell in the air. He couldn't even make any noise besides soft rumbling noises at the back of his threat, which didn't really do any good. A muffled scream would be possible, but then he would be giving Krizzen the pleasure of watching him suffer.

_Drip. _

He was going crazy. His mind thought of many ways to end this, but none would work. Partially because he was strapped up completely, and partially because any plan he thought of would be interrupted by a...

_Drip. _

Nuts. Nuts. Nuts. How to end this. How. How. Insanity. Help. Help. Please help.

_Drip. _

Nope, not giving up the dragons. It's the only way to end this but I'm not doing it.

_Drip. _

Where was the Hidden World? About a day by ship from Berk, and three hours by dragon…

_Drip. _

Bearings, quick. Was it south? Or north? Or maybe it was a little to the east…

_Drip. _

South east! Travel south east for a day by ship, and you'll be there…

_Drip. _

It's a giant caldera in the middle of the ocean, only dragons can go in…

_Drip. _

_Drip. _

_Drip. _

Hiccup's muffled scream echoed through the chamber. He couldn't bear it any more. The deprivation of any sense of sight, smell, touch, hearing, and the inability to speak made him go insane. He couldn't think coherently, he couldn't think at all. All he could think of was how to end the insanity. He was insane. He was crazy.

_Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. _

Krizzen heard his scream, but decided against removing his gag straight away. He watched as Hiccup's fingers and toes moved around vigorously, as those were the only things he could move. He heard Hiccup scream again and again, trying to get the agony to end. When he decided that it was time, he walked over to Hiccup and removed the cotton wool in his ears, and then the gag.

"AHHH! GET ME OUT!" Hiccup screamed, unable to control himself any longer. He only thought of one thing, his want to feel something, see something, and move again. He never knew not being able to move or use any of his senses would affect him so greatly. He never knew insanity could hit him so hard.

"The Hidden World. Where?" Krizzen asked curtly.

"South east of Berk, a day by ship," Hiccup blurted out. He wasn't thinking straight anymore. The only thing he thought of was how to end the suffering.

"How does it look like?" Krizzen continued.

"Big hole," Hiccup stated. "NOW GET ME OUT!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Krizzen let out a thoughtful hum. Suddenly, he shouted at Hiccup. "YOU'RE LYING! TELL THE TRUTH!"

"It's the truth!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"No it's not!" Krizzen insisted. "Tell the truth or I'll keep this going!"

"It's the truth! I swear on Odin's beard!" Hiccup exclaimed again. He didn't know why Krizzen kept saying he was lying. Why would he lie? He wanted out desperately, and telling a lie wouldn't help him to get out.

Krizzen, on the other hand, didn't know for sure whether what he was saying was true. He kept saying this to make sure that Hiccup was actually telling the truth. But judging from his distraught state right now, Krizzen was confident that Hiccup was in no condition to lie.

Satisfied, he stopped the water from landing on Hiccup's forehead, and he removed his blindfold and all the chains. Hiccup's eyes were red again. Having to undergo such prolonged mental torture - he was on the platform for at least ten hours - definitely managed to break him. Add this to the fact that he just realised that Berk really did give up on him… he wouldn't have any resolve to do anything for a while, Krizzen hoped. Having Hiccup broken would make getting info a lot easier, if any more was needed.

Krizzen lifted him off the platform, and Hiccup struggled to stand upright. His legs were numb from having spent so long without moving a single inch, and he felt weak all over. His mind was unwilling to do anything, and he felt his fighting spirit leave him. He merely slumped against Krizzen, letting him drag him back to his cell.

Krizzen dropped him unceremoniously in the cell, and Hiccup slumped to the floor. His hands and legs were sprawled out, and he didn't feel like moving. His inability to think was affecting him greatly, and random thoughts from the last few hours sped through his head. Berk gave up on him. He just revealed the location of the Hidden World.

_I just revealed the location of the Hidden World. _

It was at this moment that he finally realised what he had done. He was too caught up in trying to escape his insane mental state that he had done the unthinkable. He had done exactly what he swore not to do. He had betrayed the dragons, and he had betrayed Berk. They pledged to protect the secret of the dragons, but he had just done the complete opposite. He revealed everything, and Krizzen was going to take control of them and conquer the world. He will be the cause of the downfall of the Barbaric Archipelago, and eventually the whole world.

He was the worst form of traitor possible. He didn't just betray Berk, or just his allies.

_I betrayed the world. I betrayed the dragons. I betrayed my best friend. _

A sob escaped his throat. It wasn't a sob of sadness, nor a sob of despair. It was a sob of helplessness, of agony, of anguish. It was a sob that revealed how utterly powerless he felt.

He had betrayed the secret of the Hidden World, and he couldn't do a thing about it.

XX

Three days have passed since Astrid and Gobber heard the dragon roar. Yet despite returning to that location every day they haven't been able to find anything. Every single day they would scour a new area of the woods from the moment the first light appears until the last light disappears, but they haven't found a single clue. They've encountered a few wild animals, but none of them seemed too interested in attacking them.

Most worryingly of all, they've never encountered any wolves. That created more questions than answers.

_How did Hiccup trample into the territory of the wolves and get himself killed?_

There wasn't a single wolf anywhere near where he died, and they had searched a pretty large radius around where he died. _Or rather supposedly died, since it seemed that that was more likely_, Astrid thought.

The fourth day was upon them, and with a new day meant a new day of searching. They were tired and slightly demotivated from not being able to find anything, but they refused to give up. Hiccup is still out there - hopefully - and if he hasn't shown up after all this time it means that he needs their help. They got up before the first light appeared as usual, and got dressed and ate quickly in order to make it to the woods by the first light.

The sun began to rise over the horizon, casting dim shadows along the ground. The first rays began to peek through the leaves of the trees, warming the cold ground and awaking the diurnal animals. The wild boars stirred, slowly rising from their slumber. Winter has came, but being in a place where it's winter for most of the year meant that they had to spend a little more time searching for food before they could hibernate. They moved from their sleeping places onto the path that they generally took every morning, and smelled the two scents that have been present on this path every day since three days ago. The scents came from Astrid and Gobber, who have travelled across this path every morning while on their way back to the rocky cliff side. After hearing the dragon roar on the first day, they went there every morning, hoping to find a new trace in the ground or any sign that someone has returned. The mornings were the best time to search, they reasoned, because if someone was so secretive that they avoided stepping on the soil, they would most likely return in the night, and may accidentally leave traces in the soil because of the darkness. But none of the mornings yielded any results. They weren't optimistic in finding anything new, but they kept trying. This was the biggest clue that they had so far, and they had to persevere and hope that something will happen soon.

Astrid led the way, walking along the path that they travelled along every day for the last three days. They walked over the fallen log that marked the start of the clearing at the cliff side. There, they began to scan the area again, making sure to walk where they walked before to prevent confusing their own footprints for new footprints. But nothing new was present. They searched for a whole hour, but they didn't find anything.

Disappointed, Astrid led the way back into the woods. They would probably spend the rest of the day combing another portion of the woods, and chances are they wouldn't find anything if the last few days were anything to go by.

As they walked back along the path, Gobber suddenly gripped Astrid's arm tightly. She stopped walking, and turned to face Gobber.

"Do ya hear that?"

Astrid peeled her ears, trying to hear what Gobber had heard. Above the ambient noises of the woods, there was a soft sound in the air. Astrid couldn't make head or tails of it, and thought nothing of it, but the serious look in Gobber's face prevented her from leaving.

The sound grew louder and louder, and finally she could decipher it. It was the sound of wings flapping through the air, and what's more, it was definitely from a dragon.

And it came from behind them.

Back where the cliff side was.

Astrid and Gobber looked at each other for a moment, and without a word they ran back towards the cliff side. They hid behind cover, Gobber hiding behind a wide tree while Astrid lay low behind the fallen log.

The flapping wings could be heard by the both of them, but it was soft enough that it couldn't be heard from the village. They thought the dragon would be small considering the softness of the sound. As they watched the rocky cliff side, the dragon rose from underneath the cliff.

What they saw was nothing close to what they expected.

The dragon was humongous, almost three times the size of a Titan Wing Dramillion. It had shiny grey scales that shone in the sunlight, and its head was sharp like a Razorwhip. It had a long neck which was attached to a body that was almost the size of a few massive boulders placed together, and its wings were very large and long. Its tail had something that looked like flippers at the end. Despite its size however, the large wings allowed the dragon to hover in the air with minimal wing flaps. But that wasn't the most shocking thing out there. Sure the dragon was big, and it could've been one of the biggest dragons they have ever seen. And they were definitely shocked that there were still dragons outside the Hidden World. But there was something else that shocked them, and something that they definitely didn't expect.

There was a rider on the dragon.

**Reviews:**

**RicoRodriguez: That's an interesting thought. It would be quite out of Hiccup's character though. I doubt he would ever agree to this kind of things. But hey, I haven't written the ending yet, so maybe I can incorporate your idea somewhere along the way!**

**JustAnAverageGuy: Thank you! **

**A/N: I tried to describe the Chinese water torture, but I'm not the best at writing about emotions and changes in mental states, honestly. It might be a little out of character for Hiccup to break so easily, but I tried to write at a pace that's just a little longer than the movies, so I cut short the number of times Hiccup had to suffer (and also I'm not the best at writing about whump), so I'm sorry the torture was short-lived. Every time he suffered in this story is for a purpose, trust me. I hope the actual storyline of this story can make up for this!**

**I've also updated the story synopsis to include a few more warnings, if you're too lazy to view it here's what's new: (minor/major death, T for violence). This isn't a deathfic, don't worry. It just adds to the story in (in my opinion) a good way. **

**Also, I've almost pre-written the entire story, just two or three chapters more to go, so yay! Expect another chapter tomorrow or the day after, just because I can. It'll be uploaded beforehand, so if there are any reviews between this chapter and the next I'm sorry, I will only reply next week. Thanks for reading! **


	9. Chapter 9: Questions Answer the Question

Chapter 9: Questions Answer the Questions

Cold, musty air filled the chamber. His hair clung to his head, drenched in sweat. The clothes on his back barely provided enough protection against the cold. Pain coursed through his back and wrists, the former from the whipping and the latter from the tight chains that kept both his hands high above his head. Hiccup was powerless to do anything.

Just as he thought it couldn't get any worse, Krizzen entered. He brought with him a bag of items, but Hiccup couldn't decipher any of them. It all seemed like a blur to him.

Stepping over to him, Krizzen hissed in his face. "You've told me everything, now watch what you did."

Krizzen slapped him in the cheek, sending even more pain through his body. Hiccup closed his eyes as he recoiled from the pain.

When he opened his eyes, he saw pure horror.

Angry dragons were roaming the skies of Berk again, just like how they did before he slew the Red Death. But unlike that time, they didn't attack to defend themselves. They attacked anything and everything they saw. Platforms were half burnt down and had gaping holes in them. Half of the houses had caved in, and the other half were on fire. People - no, not just people - _his_ people, were running helter skelter around the place, trying to avoid getting hit by dragons. Since they thought that all the dragons had returned to the Hidden World, no one was prepared for a dragon attack. _I did this to them,_ Hiccup thought. _I'm the one that betrayed them all_. He watched as his people tried avoiding the fire attacks, but some of them were unable to, and they caught on fire, and… perished in front of his eyes. Hiccup was horrified at what he saw, but he couldn't look away, no matter how hard he tried.

He looked at the dragons that were attacking Berk. Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Cloudjumper, and Skullcrusher were all there, and they seemed to be leading the attack. He looked around even more, and that's when he saw…

Toothless. The alpha dragon.

Leading all the dragons.

With Krizzen on his back.

Anger surged through his body. Who dared to ride on his dragon and use his kind, gentle, peace-loving dragon for such evil purposes? But he was powerless to do anything. Krizzen looked at him, and gave him an evil smile. Hiccup scowled at him, but he couldn't do anything else. He watched with horror as the dragons continued to attack Berk, burning walkways and houses and livestock, and worst of all, burning people he knew and cared for.

He looked to his left, and he saw Astrid furiously fending off the dragon attacks. She hopped from tree to tree and bound to bound, using whatever skills she learnt from dragon training all those years ago. The fireballs kept missing her, but each time she moved the shots were getting closer and closer. Zephyr and Nuffink were doing the same, moving swiftly on their feet. But their time and space was running out. They were reaching the end of the island, and cover was scarce there.

Astrid paused at a large fallen tree, waiting for their kids to catch up. She turned behind, looking at Zephyr and Nuffink run from bound to bound. To Hiccup's horror, he noticed that she didn't spot the dragon sneaking up behind her.

Stormfly. Stormfly was sneaking up on her.

Hiccup wanted to call out, wanted to warn her, but his mouth refused to listen to the orders of his brain. He watched as Astrid beckoned their kids to hide at the fallen tree with her.

_Don't follow her! Stormfly is there!_

Zephyr and Nuffink finally crossed the open space between the last tree and the fallen tree Astrid was at. They lay low behind that tree, watching the path that they came from to make sure that no dragon followed them.

Suddenly, a loud squawk sounded behind them. They turned to look at the source of the sound simultaneously. Neither of them had a weapon, having lost it all in the furious rush to the fallen tree. Hiccup watched as Astrid raised her hand to Stormfly, palm open and head turned away.

Stormfly stared at her rider curiously, seemingly recognising her but yet not entirely trusting of her. Neither her tail and her wings were raised, which was a good sign. It looked like Stormfly was able to remember who Astrid was. Her eyes widened in recognition, and she moved forward towards Astrid slowly.

Hiccup heaved a sigh of relief. He was glad that the years of riding together managed to leave an impact…

Without warning, Stormfly raised her tail and wings, and squawked angrily. Her mouth filled up with the magnesium fire that Nadders are known to shoot, and Hiccup could only watch in horror as the blast left Stormfly's mouth, directed straight at his family and incinerating…

XX

Hiccup jerked up into an upright position. He was sweating profusely, and he was breathing heavily. _It was only a dream_, he thought. _Only a dream. A nightmare though_. He raised his right hand to wipe the sweat from his face, but his hand was stopped with a _clank_ sound. Looking down, he noticed that his right hand was chained to the lower part of the cell bars, allowing him to sit and lie down but preventing him from standing up. His prosthetic was still on though, which was a plus.

_That dream can very much be a reality if I don't do anything, _Hiccup thought to himself.

_You can't do anything,_ the dark part of his mind told him.

_I have to try. I got myself into this mess, I betrayed the Hidden World, I'm going to be the cause of a lot of destruction and pain if I don't try and do anything. I have to find a way. _

The lock on the metallic door to the circular chamber suddenly began to make clanging noises as a guard unlocked the door noisily, interrupting Hiccup from his thoughts.. A guard entered, carrying a plate of food and water. There was very little food on the plate, and water was minimal too. It seemed like Krizzen's policy on food and water had changed from 'keep the prisoner well fed and hydrated' to 'if he's alive it's enough'. Hiccup studied the guard, trying to spot anything that can give him a way to escape.

As the guard walked through the door, he placed the food by the door, and proceeded to hand over every item in his belt to the other guards outside the door. Keys, weapons, and any other random things that might've ended up in his belt. After he was cleared, he picked up the food and walked cautiously to Hiccup's cell. He ordered Hiccup to reach out his left hand as far as he could. Having not eaten since he was brought back to his cell after he… betrayed the dragons, he was quite hungry and thirsty, and so he obliged. He placed his hand just outside his cell, hoping that the guard would come closer to the bars so he could try and take something…

Without warning, the guard grabbed his hand in such a tight grip that Hiccup thought his hand might be broken. He yanked Hiccup's hand forward with such force that for a moment Hiccup thought he had lost an arm. Hiccup's face and chest struck the bars, and his right hand was twisted at an awkward angle. It took him a lot of willpower to resist crying out in pain. When his arm was finally straightened out, the guard took out a piece of chalk and drew a line at the end of his fingers, marking out the place where Hiccup could reach.

Satisfied, the guard released Hiccup's hand, and Hiccup released a breath he didn't realise he was holding. Hiccup rubbed his wrist while watching the guard. The guard placed the food and water just across the line, near enough for Hiccup to reach but far enough so that Hiccup couldn't touch the guard. Once he placed down the food and water, he walked out of the chamber quickly.

Hiccup stared at the line. After his last escape attempt, he doubted anyone would be allowed to get close to him. This line was probably a marker to indicate that no one should cross it. Furthermore, if all guards were forced to remove all items before entering, he doubted he could try and pull off the same thing again and nab the keys from a guard. His shackled hand didn't really provide much room to manoeuvre around too. How could he get out?

_You can't. There's no way_. The dark part of his mind seemed much more active ever since that ordeal in the chamber. Hiccup was usually able to repress any thoughts that his dark side came up with, but he was still in quite a distressed state. Realising that Berk thought he was dead, and then going through the mental torment, and then giving up the Hidden World on his own accord… everything seemed to be going against him. Even the escape attempt failed miserably, and it wasn't because he wasn't prepared - well, he wasn't prepared to face ten armed guards in the tunnel for sure - it was because Krizzen had taken precautions. And now looking at how careful the guard was when approaching him even though his hand was shackled, it seemed like he wasn't going to stand a chance at getting out at all.

For once in his life, Hiccup succumbed to his dark thoughts, and he actually found himself agreeing with what his dark side was thinking. He couldn't find a way to get out; the guards were very cautious, there wasn't anything around that he could use to break out, and no one was coming to his aid. It was really true, there's no way to get out.

For the first time in his life, Hiccup felt truly helpless and hopeless. There was no need to stop the tears from flowing down his face as the reality of his situation sank in. He cried tears of desperation, tears of sadness and pity. He cried because he gave up the dragons, he cried because he would cause the downfall of Berk, of his allies, of the world. He cried because he knew that he wouldn't be able to see anyone he cared about again. Zephyr and Nuffink wouldn't see their dad anymore, and Astrid… He'll never see any of them again. The mere thought of this sent even more tears to his eyes, and he let out loud sobs of agony and anguish.

XX

Astrid and Gobber stayed in their positions, partly because they were waiting to see what the rider did, and partly because they didn't expect a rider at all.

He wore a black hood and a dark blue leather tunic, and he had spiked shoulder guards. His belt bore an insignia that neither of them recognised, and he had black pants. With the sun behind his face, the hood cast a shadow on his face, hiding his facial features. Astrid still noticed a black French-cut beard, and the left side of his face seemed scarred.

The large dragon hovered just off the edge of the cliff, and the rider hopped over the gap onto the rocky cliff side. He looked around warily, and when he seemed satisfied, he began walking on the rocks towards the trees. Astrid and Gobber advanced in that direction slowly, staying behind cover and being very careful to avoid stepping on twigs or fallen branches that would give away their position.

The hooded rider kept moving forward swiftly but silently. When he reached the edge of the rocks, he stopped and looked into the woods. He kept looking around as though he was searching for something.

After a short while of scanning the area, he tapped his foot on the rock three times; twice in quick succession, and once more after a short pause. Immediately, a reply came from a tree nearby. Two quick taps, and one more tap. Satisfied, the hooded rider stood and waited. Astrid and Gobber held their breaths in nervous anticipation. They hadn't expected a dragon in the first place, much less a rider on that dragon, and even more so another person to be collaborating with this rider.

The other party finally arrived, wearing a long hood as well, but it was dark green. It covered most of his clothes and face, preventing anyone from recognising him, but they did notice a scar ending at the bottom of his left cheek. The hooded rider pulled out a piece of paper from inside his hood, and passed it to the other hooded man…

"NOW!" Astrid's voice rang through the woods. Gobber had moved nearer to the dark green hooded man, and was within a few metres of him. A few quick strides would be enough to catch up. Astrid was hiding behind the closest tree to the hooded rider. With a loud battlecry, both Astrid and Gobber charged towards their targets, axe and hammer and sword raised.

The hooded rider was the fastest to react. Since his belt was strapped outside his hood, he dropped the piece of paper and withdrew his sword. The other hooded man quickly picked up the piece of paper, turned and ran back into the woods with Gobber pursuing him. Thankfully Hiccup had helped him design a leg that was more effective at running on soil, and so Gobber was able to remain just behind him.

Astrid swung her axe at the rider, who was just able to raise his sword to parry the attack. The force and surprise of Astrid's attack managed to knock him off balance, and he stumbled backwards while struggling to regain his footing. Astrid took another step forward, swinging her axe again. The rider barely managed to parry, but doing so while off balance caused his sword to be knocked out of his hand. He fell to the floor, and just rolled out of the way of Astrid's next axe swing; Astrid struck the rocky ground instead. With a roar, she raised her axe back up, and advanced on the rider slowly. The rider was now caught between a rock and a hard place, in front of him was an angry and alert Astrid, and behind him was the edge of the cliff. He backed off slowly as Astrid advanced, unsure of what to do.

XX

Meanwhile, Gobber kept pursuing the other man. The man ducked through foliage and jumped over fallen branches, and Gobber was doing extremely well in keeping up with him. As he ran, the man was removing his hood, trying to reach his belt underneath it. But doing so distracted him from the path ahead, and he couldn't do anything besides stretch out a hand to break his fall when his leg struck a branch he hadn't seen.

Gobber raised his hammer hand and swung down hard, breaking the branch that tripped the man and almost hitting the man. The man rolled out of the way in time, and dodging a sword thrust from Gobber, he jumped to his feet. Raising his fists, he held an onguard position against Gobber. Noticing his confidence, Gobber hesitated to attack, after all, who would be so willing to stand against a person with a hammer as a hand and a sword in the other hand without a plan?

The two circled each other, waiting for each other to make the first move. Gobber also kept circling to be able to see his face. The sun was still behind the man, casting a shadow on his face. If they kept circling, eventually the light will strike his face and maybe figuring out who he is will give them a clue as to what actually happened to Hiccup.

The sun slowly revealed more facial features as they circled each other. Gobber saw a scar that ended at his left cheek. _Oddly familiar_, he thought. But when the sun finally shone on his entire face, Gobber was taken aback. That face was one he definitely saw before, and while they barely knew each other, Gobber trusted him. _Wrong to do so_, he thought. He was too stunned to do anything, and could only whisper the man's name in shock.

"Yeah, it's me," the man replied.

"Why?" Gobber asked.

"I've made many friends and enemies in my travels," the man began. "A friend I met in my travels saved me from an enemy that did this to me." He pointed to his scar. "My enemy would've killed me if I wasn't saved by him. I'm indebted to him, and so I'm helping him to fulfil his mission."

"Where's Hiccup?" Gobber asked.

"Dead," the man stated curtly.

"Yer crazy if yer think I believe that," Gobber retorted.

The man merely chuckled. "Even if he's alive, I'd bet that he'd rather be dead than alive right now."

A chill spread through Gobber's body at the sinister nature of that statement.

"Tell me where tha' lad is, or yer may find yerself on the tip of me sword," Gobber threatened.

"I don't think so," the man replied.

With that, Gobber charged at the man, sword ready to draw blood and hammer ready to inflict massive damage. The man dodged the sword attack, and jumped to his left to avoid Gobber's follow-up hammer strike. As Gobber turned to face the man, the man revealed a pebble hidden in his fists. As Gobber charged again, the man swiftly threw the pebble at Gobber's face, forcing Gobber to raise his hand to block the pebble. Taking advantage of this distraction, the man bounded forward and grabbed Gobber's wrist. Due to Gobber's much older age, he reacted slower, and using this short time frame, the man twisted Gobber's hand behind his back, forcing him to drop the sword. Gobber immediately swung his hammer backwards, hoping to strike the man behind him. The man ducked, and quickly leaped to his feet with Gobber's sword in his hand.

Gobber turned around, only to face a sword right at his neck. The man looked straight into Gobber's eyes, determination flashing through his own eyes. Gobber stayed still. There was nothing he could do to attack the man without having the sword thrusted into his neck.

"You know Gobber, you've been a really nice guy to all of us," the man said. "I really like you, but I'm afraid you know too much. Can't get anyone searching for Hiccup, right?"

Before Gobber could reply, the man pulled back the sword and thrusted it into Gobber's chest, and left it there for a while before pulling the sword out. Blood poured out of the wound, leaving a crimson stain on the floor. Gobber stumbled, and fell to his knees, before laying down on his side, blood still gushing out of the wound. He struggled to breathe, and was gasping for air. His vision began to lose focus, and his eyes began staring at nothing in particular.

Standing up, the man snarled at Gobber. "Goodbye Gobber, may the Valkyries welcome you into Valhalla." With that, he dropped Gobber's sword and ran away.

XX

The rider kept backing off, until he found himself at the edge of the cliff. Taking a wary glance backwards, he stopped and began to face Astrid. Astrid kept advancing on him until she was within two arm's length from him. Axe raised, she faced off against the rider. Neither of them made a move; Astrid because she wanted answers, and the rider because he rather fancied staying alive.

"Who are you?" Astrid snarled.

"Funny," the rider said. "I thought you would've recognised me by now."

The sun remained right behind the rider, hiding his facial features apart from his beard. Astrid was certain she heard his voice before though.

"You have about ten seconds to start talking before I send you off this cliff," Astrid snarled again.

The rider let out a small chuckle. "Believe you me, it would be better if I were alive than dead."

"You're right," Astrid said. "Maybe I'll torture you for info first."

"While I understand why you'll do that, maybe my life could be used in other ways Astrid."

Astrid was taken aback for a moment. _How did he know my name?_ She refused to show her confusion on her face, and steeled herself before continuing. "How do you know my name?"

"Like I said, I'm surprised you didn't recognise me," the rider said.

Frustration began to grow within Astrid. She wasn't getting any direct answers, in fact there were more questions being raised than answers. But she remained at her position, knowing that the rider may be the only way to get answers. _And the other man, I hope Gobber's doing alright._

The rider tapped his toes on the rocky ground. "Tell me Astrid, do you want to see Hiccup again?"

This stunned Astrid. Her shock was evident on her face. She drew in a gasp at the mention of her beloved's name. Her grip on her axe loosened for a moment.

The rider noticed this, and let out a chuckle. "I thought so," he continued. "If you want to see him again, you'll let me go." As he said this, he began to walk backwards, nearer and nearer to the edge of the cliff.

"Wait!" Astrid began, but she was interrupted by the rider taking a step off the cliff, and falling off the cliffside. Astrid gasped, and ran to the cliffside. Falling to her knees and going onto all fours, she looked over the cliffside. But she didn't see the rider anywhere. All she saw were the rocks by the seaside and the waves crashing against the rocks. _There was no way anyone could survive that fall_, she thought. Confused at the situation and frustrated that she didn't get any answers, she rose to her feet and began to walk back. She was distracted by what the rider said. _He knew my name, and he mentioned Hiccup…_

Suddenly, she remembered that Gobber was still fighting somewhere. Slinging her axe over her shoulder, she ran in the direction that Gobber ran. She jumped over fallen branches and hacked her way through bushes, following the footsteps in the soil.

She pushed through the last bush, and let out a loud gasp. Gobber was laying in a pool of blood, gasping for air. Blood was pouring out of a wound in his chest, and his bloodied sword lay on the ground beside him.

"Gobber!" Astrid exclaimed, a mix of anger and pain in her voice. It pained her to see Gobber… like this. Falling to her knees beside him, she placed her hand over the wound, trying to stop the blood from flowing. But after seeing the size of the pool of blood, she knew deep down inside her, no matter how much she refused to believe it, Gobber had lost too much blood, and she couldn't do anything. Tears began to flow from her eyes, and she had to restrain her sobs.

"Lass…" Gobber said through shaky breaths. "Trai…-" he drew in a sharp breath. Whatever he had to say was definitely important, why else would he be struggling to speak in spite of all his pain? "Tor…" He drew in another sharp breath. Astrid listened closely, while at the same time trying to provide as much comfort for him in his final moments. "Hicc…-" he took in a sharp breath, "live…" Having said what he had to say, he inhaled loudly, and exhaled his last.

Tears were streaming down Astrid's face. Gobber, the fatherly figure to all of the riders, the one who always believed in them and had even led them through dragon training at the start, was… dead. Astrid dreaded saying that word. Head bowed and hands on the chest of one of the most respected figures in her life, she sobbed. She had always respected him, and would continue to do so, and even more so for trying to give her hope in his final moments.

When she had calmed down, she pondered on his words for a moment. _Traitor? Hiccup… alive?_ The latter words gave her new hope, and something floated in her chest despite the pain she was feeling. But the former words posed just as many questions. _Who's the traitor?_

As she thought about this, her eyes caught sight of a piece of paper lying on the forest floor. Walking there, she picked it up and examined it. It was definitely the piece of paper the man had in his hand. _He must've dropped it when he grabbed Gobber's sword_, she thought. She flipped over the paper to see the contents, and a chill ran through her body.

The paper was the letter that she had delivered to the Founders Tribe informing them of the new chief.

There were only a few people who have touched this letter, and she did deliver it to Kari personally. Who could've taken this letter, and how did the rider have the letter? This was frustrating. Everything they found created more questions than answers. It was going to be a long search, but Astrid was determined. She wouldn't give up, especially after Gobber had given his life for the search. Nothing would stop her from finding out the truth.

But how long would it take?


	10. Chapter 10: An Enemy Resurfaces Or?

Chapter 10: An Enemy Resurfaces… Or…?

There was barely a sound as the large dragon touched down on the island. Vegetation was sparse, but there were a few trees scattered around. Most of the ground was rocky apart from the few parts that had trees, and there were many cliffs around the island. Some of these cliffs had rocky overhangs as well. The hooded rider dismounted, fur boots making a soft thud as he landed on the rocky ground.

"You know where to go, Shineterror," the rider said to his dragon. The dragon obliged, and began walking away from his rider towards a rocky overhang where shelter could be found. The hooded rider went in the opposite direction towards a wooden door where two heavily armed and armoured guards stood. Noticing him approach, the two guards stood at attention for a moment, before opening the door to allow him to enter the cave. He walked into the dimly lit cave, following a path that he knew by heart, partially because he had lived here for the last five years, and partially because this path was one he had to take very often.

Finally, he stopped in front of a wooden door. Lifting his fist up to the door, he rapped on it three times, loudly and clearly. The door opened, and the rider walked in. Musty air wafted into his nostrils, and the smell of smoke coming from the torches in the room entered his nose.

Behind the desk sat Krizzen, eyes focused on the papers in his hands. He didn't even look up as the rider entered, fully expecting him to do so. Without glancing up, he spoke to the rider. "You don't have to report to me every time you know."

"I don't unless it's important," the rider replied.

"Well, what's so important?"

"They saw us."

Krizzen's head shot up and his gaze focused onto the rider. He stiffened, and with a stern voice he asked the rider. "Who. Who saw what?"

"His friends. They saw me passing the letter. I'm afraid that gives us less time than we thought."

Krizzen diverted his gaze to the floor, mind racing. He looked deep in thought, considering what to do given the new developments. Finally, he rose to his feet and slammed the papers on his desk. "Two weeks. We depart in two weeks. Guards, tell the rest."

"Sir," one of the two guards at the door said. "Don't you think cutting two months of preparation to two weeks is too much? Your device is still being made."

"Two weeks. We don't have time. Use all the dragon-proof metal on the device. Weapons and other things can be made from the metal," Krizzen instructed.

With a salute, the guards left the room and headed down the tunnels. Krizzen returned his gaze to the rider. "Keep Hiccup alive… for now. I'll call for him on the day we leave, and then he will be a thing of the past."

Fully understanding the malice behind Krizzen's words, the hooded rider nodded, and left the room.

XX

Two weeks passed relatively quickly. The guards were preoccupied with their preparations, and besides giving him food and water, they hadn't come to bother Hiccup. Hiccup kept observing the guards, but they kept the same precautions every time, and he really couldn't find any way out. A miracle was the only thing that could save him now.

The door to the circular chamber opened. Hiccup didn't even look up, fully accustomed to the sound and knowing that every time the door opened the same precautions were taken, and he couldn't do anything. He kept staring at the ground, letting his mind wander through various thoughts.

He heard the sound of food being placed on the floor, but his eyes remained on the floor. Only the sound of a voice broke his train of thought.

"We're leaving soon, if you hadn't known."

Hiccup looked up at the source of the voice. It belonged to the hooded rider. Apparently he had delivered his food today instead of the other guards.

Thinking about his words, Hiccup felt the feeling of defeat flow through him again. They were going to head to the Hidden World, and this was all thanks to him.

"Krizzen wants you executed you know," the rider continued.

That got a reaction. Hiccup looked up at the rider, eyes filled with sadness. He looked back down, and said in a soft voice. "I kinda expected that." The disappointment and sorrow in his voice broke the rider's heart a little. "Why?" Hiccup asked, looking back at the rider.

The rider shrugged his shoulders. "Finds you a burden and a threat, perhaps," he said.

Hiccup looked back at the floor. A tear flowed down his cheek, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. Knowing that he would die here, cold and alone, and without getting to see his family again pained his already fragile mind.

The rider noticed this, and let out a sigh. "Where's the Hiccup that can find a way no matter what? Where's the Hiccup that always stays optimistic?"

Hiccup glared at the rider. All his pent up frustration and anger at the hopelessness of his situation found its way out of him. In a loud voice, he yelled at the rider with his free hand making many vigorous hand gestures. "How can I find a way? There's nothing within arm's reach, and no one comes close enough for me to do anything! Hel, even the food I get doesn't have anything I can work with!" Having let out his anger, his hand fell back to his side and he looked back at the floor. "I've done all I can," he said in a much smaller voice.

"The Hiccup I know wouldn't give up, no matter what," the rider challenged.

"How do you know me?" Hiccup asked, more of a challenge than a question. "You've never spoken to me, and this stupid island is the first place I saw you."

"Are you sure?" As the rider asked the question, his hand moved to the top of his hood. Tugging his hand backwards, he pulled the hood off his head, allowing the dim light in the chamber to fall on his face, and allowing Hiccup to see all of his facial features. Hiccup let out a loud gasp. He recognised that face. In fact, he was surprised he didn't recognise his voice initially. Because standing in front of him was…

"Viggo!?"

His black hair had begun to grey in certain areas, and his scar was less pronounced than before. His brown eyes, or rather eye, shone brightly in the dim light. When his hood was removed, he looked a lot less threatening, and it even looked like there was compassion in his eyes. _Compassion for… what?_ Hiccup thought to himself.

To say that Hiccup was shocked to see Viggo would be an understatement. After all, the last time they met was when Viggo had arrows sticking out of his back, and there was a large electrical explosion from the Skrill that Viggo tamed. Moreover, it has been more than two decades since they last fought, and Hiccup thought that he had seen the last of Viggo. How they ended up face to face again was definitely bizarre. But with Viggo on the outside of the cell and himself inside the cell chained to the door, Hiccup didn't know whether to feel optimistic or even more pessimistic about his situation.

"How… why… what are…" Hiccup began to stutter, words unable to be formed because of how flabbergasted he was, but Viggo interrupted him with a raised hand.

"I know what you're trying to ask, Hiccup," Viggo began. "But I'm afraid we're rather pressed for time. Krizzen's given me thirty minutes to feed you before taking you out there to be executed, and we've used ten of them.

"You've given away the location of the Hidden World, haven't you?"

Hiccup sighed. "Yes, I did," he said in a sad voice, turning his face to face the floor. "And I can't do anything about it."

Viggo didn't budge, and kept standing in front of Hiccup's cell. In a firm voice, he began. "The Hiccup I know wouldn't give up so easily. The Hiccup I know would find a way to fix this."

"How can I fix this?" Hiccup wailed. "I've been trying to find a way to escape. I've had nothing. Nothing! My prosthetic is over there, I haven't been given any bones to pick a lock, the floor's completely clean too. I can't do anything!"

Viggo didn't react to his outburst. He merely stood there, watching Hiccup with disapproving eyes. Eventually, he asked Hiccup a question. "With me here, are you sure you still can't think of a way?"

Hiccup looked back at Viggo. Determined brown eyes met his gaze. It was at this moment when Hiccup caught his drift. A sense of optimism returned to Hiccup. Hope began to flow anew in his heart. Yes, he had done horrible things, but now he was going to get a chance to fix it, and this would be thanks to Viggo. He was a little doubtful of Viggo however, but sensing that this was probably the only chance he'll get, he jumped at it.

"Let's do this!" Hiccup said, determination abounding within him.

**Reviews: **

**RicoRodriguez: Yes! That was exactly the reaction I was expecting. Thanks for reading!**

**A/N: Double upload this week since this is a short chapter. Enjoy! **


	11. Chapter 11: Out And About

Chapter 11: Out and About

As each new day passed, Astrid became more and more frustrated. Nothing has happened since that fateful day when the dragon and his rider landed on the rocky cliff side, and Gobber had died in battle. It was the most honourable way a Viking could go, and it was the way that most Vikings dreamt of going. He had been given a typical Viking funeral at the docks of the Founders Tribe, and Kari had renewed her promise to help Astrid in whatever way she could. Astrid was grateful for her help, not only for the food, water, and accommodation, but for the map that she was given. Kari had given her a large map that made her searches more systematic, and a lot of paper and charcoal to make more notes if she needed to. Paper was a luxury in these areas, and the amount that Kari had given her was almost equivalent to how much a normal villager could earn in two years.

As night fell, Astrid crossed off the areas that she searched today, and returned to the rocky cliff side. It became a tradition for her. Every morning she would head to the cliff side to see if there were any new tracks from the night before, and every night before she returned home she would check again. However, every single one of her checks has been in vain.

Until this night.

As she approached the cliff side, she could hear the distinct flapping of wings, exactly like how it sounded when the dragon approached the cliff side that day. She hid behind the same fallen log, and waited with bated breath.

The same enormous dragon flew towards the cliff side, but instead of hovering off the edge like it did last time, it flew into the clearing and landed. A hooded rider dismounted, wearing the same clothes as he did the last time. He hopped off the saddle and turned his back towards her as he fiddled with something on the saddle. He looked a little unsteady on his feet, and Astrid noticed that one side of his boot was lower than the other side. In fact, the rider had to bend his left leg slightly to be able to stand on both feet comfortably. Astrid crept around until she was clear of the log, and raising her axe with both hands, she gave a loud battlecry and charged at the rider. The rider began to turn around but nothing was going to stop her from taking down the rider this time, and she would get her way with him until he revealed everything about…

Astrid froze in her tracks, axe still raised above her head. She looked straight at the rider, who had dropped his hood as she was charging at him. A freckled face met her eyes, and shining emerald green eyes met her gaze. His auburn hair was just as ruffled as it always was. Having feared for the worst, she had prepared herself to never see him again, but there he stood with his beautiful face and gleaming eyes, and what's more, he was _alive_.

"H-Hiccup?"

"Astrid?"

Astrid was frozen in her position, axe raised high above her head, mouth agape. Walking over to her, Hiccup placed a gentle hand on her cheek. His emerald green eyes looked straight into her azure blue eyes. He looked much skinnier than ever, if it was even possible. Nevertheless, a smile formed on Hiccup's face. They stood like this for a moment, enjoying each other's presence. Finally, as though they had rehearsed this before, Astrid dropped her axe and flung her hands around Hiccup while Hiccup placed both his hands around Astrid's waist simultaneously, and their lips met. Their tongues entered each other's mouths, exploring and fighting. The kiss they shared was filled with passion, filled with yearning, and most importantly, filled with joy. Joy that she had finally found her husband, joy that his torment was over and he could be with everyone he loves again, joy that they can finally be together again.

They kissed for a long time, and unwillingly broke the kiss when they needed to breathe. When they broke apart, they hugged each other tightly, letting the warmth of their embrace flow through their bodies. They hugged for what seemed like an eternity, and although not a word was spoken, they were perfectly content with enjoying each other's presence in silence. Tears flowed down both their cheeks, and the tears spoke more than they could've said to each other in that moment.

Finally, the silence was broken by Hiccup. "I've missed you so much, milady."

"I've missed you too babe."

Eventually, they broke the embrace. Hands intertwined, they continued to look into each other's eyes, searching and finding the love that they had for each other. Finally, Hiccup looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings, having not been in the woods before, while Astrid looked at the dragon. Hiccup looked back at Astrid as she admired the dragon. The dragon, sensing that Astrid was not a threat despite her initial attack, allowed Astrid to get close.

"Astrid," Hiccup began. "Shall we head back to Berk? There's… uhh…" He struggled to find the words. How was he supposed to tell Astrid that he had revealed the secret that the Berkians had sworn to protect? How would Astrid react to this? How would Berk react to this? Would they still accept him? Or would they mete out some punishment to him? After all, the punishment for being a traitor was exile or… death…

Astrid noticed Hiccup was lost in his thoughts. His eyes had a faraway look, and he was fidgeting with his hands. This usually meant that he had something unpleasant to say. With a small smile, she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He focused and looked into her eyes. "Hiccup, it's okay."

That seemed to do the trick. With a loud sigh, he said the words that he dreaded to say. "I revealed the location of the Hidden World." He quickly looked away, refusing to meet Astrid's gaze out of shame. "And I know we promised to protect the secret until it was safe for them to return and it is definitely not safe yet but I still-"

"Hiccup…"

"gave it up because I'm weak and I know I should've stayed strong but I couldn't and it all just happened so fast-"

"Hiccup…"

"I didn't have time to process what was happening until it was done and when it was done I was just there-"

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup finally stopped rambling. He tended to do that whenever he was nervous about something. Astrid knew this, and began calming him down. Taking his hands in her hands, she looked at him with a reassuring smile on her face. "It's okay," she began in a soft and gentle voice. "It's okay. I know you won't do something like that willingly. If it happened, it happened because someone did something horrible to you, and not because you're weak. What's important is not why you gave it up, but how are you going to fix it. I know you have it in you to fix things. Do you believe in yourself?"

Hiccup stayed silent as he processed her words. Although he was still nervous and upset at himself for this, what Astrid said helped to calm him down and comfort him. Yes, he did the unthinkable, but her confidence that he can make things right gave him hope and encouraged him. And with the people of Berk and the dragons on his side, they could overcome Krizzen and his army.

Finally, he smiled. "Thank you," he whispered to Astrid.

"I'm always here for you," Astrid said. "Whether it's physically or mentally, I'm always here. Well, you wanted to head back to Berk, right?"

She began to lead the way back through the woods, but Hiccup pulled her back. "Not by boat, by dragon. We don't have much time."

"Are you sure?" Astrid asked, eyeing the dragon. "We might raise suspicion here."

"Don't worry, he's virtually invisible in the night," Hiccup said. "I'll fill you in along the way. His name is Shineterror, by the way."

With that, they both mounted Shineterror, and headed back to Berk.

XX

"Are you sure about this Viggo?" Hiccup asked.

"Positive," Viggo replied. Viggo was wearing the clothes that Hiccup wore as a prisoner, and Hiccup had taken his clothes instead. Viggo had come to Hiccup with a plan on how to escape, and within the last five minutes Viggo had explained the plan to him. Hiccup listened earnestly, knowing that this was probably the only chance he could get to escape. As Hiccup turned to leave the circular chamber, the place that was his 'home' for the last month or so, he remembered something that he wanted to ask Viggo.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Hiccup asked. "You've joined Krizzen in his search for the dragons and his quest to conquer the world, why are you letting me go all of a sudden?"

Viggo chuckled. "I'm not one of them. I joined Krizzen because the rumour was that he would help us find out where all the dragons went."

"Don't tell me you were hunting them again," Hiccup said accusingly.

"No I wasn't," Viggo said calmly. "After that day when we worked together my Skrill took me to a tribe far away from the Barbaric Archipelago. I was severely injured, and he managed to find someone who took good care of me. Since then, I stayed at that village peacefully. I wanted to leave my dragon hunting life behind, and being at this village gave me an opportunity for a fresh start. I stayed there for many years with my Skrill, and even started a family there. But then all of a sudden my Skrill vanished. Ever since then I have been trying to find out what happened to it. Then in comes Krizzen, promising to me that he would help me find out what happened to the dragons. Being curious, I joined him. Mind you, he never told me anything about using them to take over the world. It was only when I had been with him for around five years when he told me why he wanted the dragons. I don't want him to use the dragons like this Hiccup, so I want you to protect them. You know where they are, you know how to deal with dragon hunters like… myself. Stop them Hiccup."

Hiccup took in all that Viggo had said. _Viggo had changed for the better_, he thought to himself. "Thank you Viggo," Hiccup said. "I'll fix this mess, I promise."

Viggo smiled. If Viggo was still his enemy, Hiccup would've found this smile sinister, but now that he knew Viggo was on his side, he could see the determination in his smile. "I'm sure you would Hiccup," Viggo said. "If you need any info, I'm your inside man."

Hiccup nodded his acknowledgement, and began to walk out of the chamber. Viggo's fur boots tread along the rocky ground, creating little sound due to the padding on the soles of the boots. His left boot was slightly lower than his right boot however, since Hiccup had to hide his prosthetic inside the boot. Hiccup pulled the black hood over his head and as far down his face as he could, hiding most of his facial features. He approached the door to the circular chamber, and rapped twice on the door. Immediately, the door opened, and the guards at the door gave him Viggo's sword and dagger, which he sheathed in his belt. Sparing a quick glance over his shoulder at Viggo, Hiccup exited the chamber.

Hiccup exited the chamber, and headed down the all too familiar tunnels towards Krizzen's office. When he reached the wooden door, he confidently opened the door without pausing to knock. Just like Viggo said, no one was in, after all Krizzen was waiting for Viggo to bring Hiccup to him. He strode over to the desk where papers were strewn all over it. _Krizzen must've left the place in a hurry_, he thought to himself. Being pressed for time, he ignored the papers and walked around the desk. He walked to the map and stared at it intently. There were red crosses on several islands. Judging from the rough size and shape of the islands, he managed to figure out two of them, the one he was currently on, and the Founders Tribe. A dotted line connected the two islands, and written above the line was a single number, "1". _Must be the time taken to get there_, he thought. He committed the path to his memory, any islands along the way and other notable things along the path. When he was done, he proceeded to head out of the room when something sitting on the table caught his eye. A familiar small satchel sat at the side of the table. He looked inside it, and sure enough it was what he expected. The satchel was filled with gunpowder. Knowing how explosive it is from first hand experience, he decided to take it along, '_just in case it comes in handy_', he thought. Having done everything he intended to do in Krizzen's office, he left the place and headed down the tunnels towards the exit.

The guards stood at attention and opened the wooden door for him. He walked out of the musty tunnels into the fresh air and moonlight. For the first time in about a month, he inhaled air that wasn't musty and damp and he saw the sky. Although the air was colder than inside the tunnels, it wasn't as cold as some of the places he'd been, and it was refreshing. He took a deep breath to feel the invigorating air travel down his windpipe and fill his lungs, and holding his breath for a moment, he exhaled loudly. He swore never to take something as basic as breathing fresh air for granted again. Having had a moment to enjoy the cool air, he turned left off the normal rocky pathway and headed towards…

"Sir!" A guard shouted from behind him.

Hiccup stiffened. This hadn't been part of the plan, and he had no idea what the guard might want. He heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind him. _Thud, thud, thud. _The sound of the boots on the rocky ground echoed in his ear and grew louder with each second. Warily, Hiccup turned to face the guard. He moved his left hand nearer to his belt in case he needed to draw his sword. Having a fight would be the last thing he wanted, because that would mean giving himself up and that would probably get himself and Viggo killed.

The guard came up to him, holding something behind his back. Hiccup moved his hand ever so slightly closer to his belt, far enough to be ready for an attack, but subtly enough to be unnoticed. "You dropped this," the guard said. As he said this, he moved his hand from behind his back to reveal the satchel that was taken from Krizzen's office.

Hiccup exhaled silently. Chuckling inwardly at himself for being so paranoid, he took the satchel from the guard. "Thanks," he said.

As he turned to leave, the guard spoke to him. "Are you okay, sir? Your voice sounds different."

Hiccup froze again. "Uhh, yeah, I'm fine." He began to walk away, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him from continuing.

"Sir?"

"Get away from me!" Hiccup snapped, turning around quickly to force the guard to release him. "You know better than to touch me."

"Yes sir," the guard said, retreating away. Hiccup turned around again, and began to walk away from the cave.

As he walked away, he heaved a sigh of relief. _That turn worked better than expected_, he thought to himself. Doing it, he had no idea if it'll work or not, but it was a risk he was willing to take. There was no way another escape plan was going to go downhill because of another unforeseen scenario.

He walked around the mountain, out of sight of the guards. As he followed the side of the mountain, a rocky overhang came into view. Underneath it, a large dragon slept peacefully, waiting for the rider to return. It was arguably one of the largest dragons he has ever seen, second only to the Bewilderbeast.

Seemingly aware of his presence, the dragon stirred and looked around. The dragon sniffed the air, and immediately its black eyes locked straight onto Hiccup. Its eyes became tiny slits, and it snarled at him.

Knowing that this dragon is the only way the plan could work however, Hiccup kept going forward. Hands outstretched, he began to speak to the dragon. "Hey there... Shineterror, isn't it?" At the mention of his name, the dragon relaxed a little, but it still showed signs of aggression. Grabbing both his dagger and his sword with both hands, he dropped it at his feet. "See? I'm a friend, you can trust me. Your rider is safe. Please…" he pursued. He kept walking forward, palms open and facing the dragon. Sensing that Hiccup wasn't a threat, the dragon stopped his aggressive stance, and his pupils returned to being wide and round. The dragon was visibly confused though; he smelt his rider's scent and recognised his rider's clothes, but there was another scent coming from the boy.

Noticing that the dragon has relaxed, Hiccup proceeded to pat the dragon on its large snout. "Please," he began, desperation evident in his voice. "I really need your help. Take me to the Founders island, the fate of all dragons depends on me…" Sensing his desperation and understanding his words, the dragon obliged, lowering his head for him to climb on. Hiccup did so, and the moment he strapped himself into the saddle, the dragon took off, grey scales blending into the night sky, making the duo virtually invisible in the night. The sky favoured them; clouds hid the moon and prevented the moonlight from reaching the surface of the earth, minimising the shine from the dragon's grey scales. The dragon flew towards the Founders Tribe, wings making very little sound as it beat to propel himself forward.

Once the island was out of sight, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. He removed his hood, and allowed the cool wind to blow through his auburn hair. On a dragon, he felt truly free, nothing could come close to the sensation of the cold wind blowing against your face. Sure, it wasn't Toothless he was riding on, but the feeling of being one with a dragon, flying through the night sky, taking in the sights, enjoying the cold wind… he would never get enough of this.

XX

"And after flying for a day, I landed at the place where you found me," Hiccup finished.

Astrid listened to everything he said. Hiccup told her everything, how he woke up chained up in the ship, how he was tortured, how he gave up the Hidden World, and how Viggo had helped him to escape. Various emotions coursed through her throughout the entire recount. Anger and pain at what Krizzen did to him, sympathy when Hiccup told her about the hopelessness he felt, and gratefulness towards Viggo. It was weird thinking that she could actually feel thankful for Viggo, especially after all that he has done to them and to the dragons.

"It's okay babe, it's all over now," Astrid said, trying to reassure him.

"Well, yes, but actually no," Hiccup said. "They're probably heading to the Hidden World right now. When Viggo came for me, Krizzen wanted me executed in front of everyone to shame me for all the trouble I caused him. Right after that, they were going to head off to the Hidden World, so I'm guessing they're already on the way."

"We have the advantage though, it's much nearer for us, and we know the way," Astrid said.

"Yeah," Hiccup said, but his mood changed rapidly. He hid his face in his hands, and began to speak. "If it wasn't for my big mouth and my weak mind this would never have happened."

"No Hiccup," Astrid said. "You're not weak. I can't imagine going through even half the things you did, let alone still remain silent until the last one. You're strong, and your mind isn't weak. Your strong mind is going to lead us to victory over Krizzen and his cronies. Got that?"

Hiccup smiled a little. It was nice being with Astrid again. She was his other half, she completed him. He loved her with all he has, and in his darkest times he really feels her love as well.

"Now get some sleep babe," Astrid continued. "You're going to need all your strength if you want to lead us."


	12. Chapter 12: The Announcements

Chapter 12: The Announcements

After twelve hours, the shores of Berk was finally in sight. Hiccup had slept most of the way, and Astrid had made sure that he didn't fall off the dragon. Berkians slowly gathered on the shores as they approached, curious as to why a dragon was flying in the skies again when they should all be in the Hidden World. Some had their weapons ready, while others weren't armed, simply coming out to witness a dragon for the first time in twenty years.

As they drew nearer to Berk, the people began to notice that not only was their previous chieftess riding the dragon, their chief, who they all had presumed to be dead, was riding on the dragon too, alive and well. Surprise was visible on all of their faces, but they were all delighted to see their chief and chieftess together again.

By the time Shineterror was reaching Berk, almost the entire village had gathered on the cove. They made way to give the dragon space to land. Shineterror landed amidst loud murmurs from the entire crowd, and the duo dismounted.

"Chief?" "Hiccup?" "How is he alive?" "There's a dragon…" "Astrid too."

"Oh my Thor," Tuffnut moaned, his voice distinctly audible above all the murmurs. "H is back on a dragon. I knew that letting Silent Sven's yaks free and watching them trample over everyone's farms was a bad Loki prank. Now he's back to haunt me!"

"Wait," Astrid said, hands on her hips. A scowl appeared on her face. "You mean you're the one responsible for that?"

"We were told that the fence broke and the yaks got loose that way," Hiccup added.

"Well, I might have been the one to break the fence," Tuffnut said.

Astrid let out a frustrated moan. "We spent a whole week cleaning up that mess and dealing with everyone who wanted a piece of Silent Sven! Wait till I get my axe on you-"

"Uh, Astrid-" Hiccup said, grabbing Astrid with both hands to prevent her from reaching Tuffnut. "It's okay, please don't kill him."

"Argh, fine," Astrid said, sheathing her axe. "But this isn't over Tuff."

Tuffnut shrugged nonchalantly. As this ended, Hiccup cleared his throat to get the attention of the villagers. "Uh, yes," Hiccup began. "I'm actually, surprise surprise, alive and well. And-" he held up both his hands to stop the crowd from getting louder, "I know you have a lot of questions, so how about we gather in the Great Hall? I've a lot to say too."

"Dad?" Two voices. Two voices that meant the world to him. Two voices that he had nursed since they were young.

"Zephyr? Nuffink?" Hiccup turned around to see his two wonderful children. They ran up to him and Astrid, and the Haddock family shared a warm embrace, refusing to let each other go for a while. He missed them so much, and the thought that he would die there alone, without getting to see them get married, have grandchildren, it broke his heart. They too were devastated that their father had passed into Valhalla in such a tragic way. But now that they were together again, warmth flowed through them all, and the family was whole again.

When they reluctantly broke up the embrace, Hiccup announced to the waiting crowd. "Alright guys, meeting in the Great Hall, twenty minutes."

XX

The hall was a noisy place, filled with Vikings talking about how their chief had magically returned from the land of the dead, and how a massive dragon found its way out of the Hidden World. Hearing the news of Gobber's death had saddened everyone, especially Hiccup since he had always been a second father to him, but hearing about the heroism and valour in his death made many people happy, and eventually they also cheered for his life. There was no shame in his death, as he had died the way many Vikings dreamt of going; dying in a heroic battle, and everyone gave him the honour and respect for that.

Hiccup had sent Shineterror away, and without Toothless or Shineterror around he had a little difficulty trying to quiet down the hall. In fact, it took Eret three shouts to get the hall to quieter down, which was two more than usual.

When the hall was quiet, Hiccup began speaking. He began from the day he was captured, and how he was taken to the rocky island, and how he met Viggo who actually helped him. He didn't talk about the torment he suffered, and he avoided saying that he revealed the location of the Hidden World as much as possible. He would have to mention it at some point, but he didn't know how he would do so, and what would their reactions be.

Eventually, he drew a deep breath, and he said, "I revealed the location of the Hidden World." He looked down at the table in front of him, refusing to meet the looks of his people. The moment he said this, the loud murmurs started again.

"He did what?" "The secret he didn't even tell us?" "How could he?"

"Really Hiccup," Snotlout said. "I'm surprised you'll tell them these things. What are you, weak? Ow!" A punch from Minden silenced him.

"ENOUGH!" Astrid's voice boomed throughout the hall. Everyone stopped talking. This was the first time they looked at Hiccup after he said that, and they could clearly see that he was dejected. "If you guys had gone through even half of what he did, you would've done the same! He's strong to make it that far."

"Half of what he did?" Eret's inquisitive voice asked. "Hiccup, is there something you're not telling us mate?"

Hiccup wanted to avoid talking about this. He didn't want anyone to feel bad for him, especially when they were about to fight a war. But now that the question has been posed, he felt that there was no way of avoiding it any further.

"Yes," Hiccup began unsteadily. "I was… tortured." Gasps could be heard from the crowd. Hiccup kept looking away, ashamed of facing the villagers. How could they respect their chief if he betrayed them?

There was a moment of silence for a while. People were absorbing what Hiccup just said, and at the same time many of them regretted the words they murmured to each other. They hadn't known that he went through torture. Even Ruff and Tuff were silent. Usually they bragged about wanting to get scars from battles but hearing how torture affected Hiccup… they weren't so sure any more. Hiccup was the strongest person they knew - mentally, of course - and if it could break him, it wasn't good. In fact, looking at him right now - eyes focusing on the table, downcast look on his face - it looked more like his pre-Toothless self than the leader they knew.

"Hiccup," Eret finally said, breaking the silence. Hiccup looked up at him. "What's done is done, and there's nothing you can do to change it-" As he said this, Hiccup looked back down and hid his face in his hands. "But," Eret continued. "It doesn't matter. What matters now is what you do from here. Sure, they may have the location of the Hidden World, but that doesn't mean we give up. We'll fight to the end, because we Berkians have made a promise, a promise to protect the dragons until it is safe for them to return. And we stand by that promise, right?" Eret faced the crowd as he directed the last question to them. The crowd cheered. Satisfied, he turned back to face Hiccup. "But we can't do this without our leader. Our brave, strong, and courageous leader. Our good ol' Hiccup. Isn't that right?" Eret asked the crowd. The loud cheers started up again, but this time they were even louder. Hiccup looked up and scanned the faces of every single Berkian present. There were looks of agreement, looks of acceptance, but among all their faces, determination could be seen. They were Vikings, after all, and fighting is something they were born with. No matter how hard, they could do it, and with a good leader on their side, victory would definitely be theirs. And now everyone was counting on Hiccup to be the good leader that he has always been.

Having the confidence of everyone present meant a lot to him. Sure, he did what they swore not to do, but he could fix things if he had everyone's help, and by the looks of it they were going to give him the help. With that, Hiccup rose from his seat, and addressed the crowd.

"Alright, I'll get a plan going, and we'll meet back here to discuss it. Down with Krizzen!"

"Down with Krizzen!" The entire hall cheered.

XX

As the Berkians left the hall after the meeting, Tuffnut suddenly grabbed Ruffnut by the hair and dragged her aside.

"What is wrong with you?" Ruff asked, irked by her stupid twin brother's antics.

"What is wrong with me?" Tuff shot back. "What is wrong with you? Clearly you don't appreciate me trying to do something for our beloved chief."

"Well I would appreciate it if you told me first instead of dragging me aside so roughly!" Ruff shouted.

"That's the only way to do it," Tuff said calmly. "Because I knew that doing that would get you to shout, and attract their attention." He pointed behind Ruff as he said this. Ruff followed his finger, and just as Tuff had said, her screaming attracted attention. Fishlegs, Heather, and Snotlout were running over to the source of the noise. "Once again, psychic Tuffnut Laverne Thorston gets it right," Tuff proclaimed.

"What's happening?" Fishlegs asked, worry etched in his voice.

"Hurry up and spit it out," Snotlout said. "Hiccup's meeting already interrupted too much of my sleep." Heather rolled her eyes at Snotlout's words.

"Well," Tuff began. "Now that I have your attention, I would like to begin my important speech. A speech so important it will shake your cores! A speech so important that it will change the way you perceive things! A speech so important-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get the idea," Snotlout interrupted. "Speak already!"

"Well I would've," Tuff said. "If you didn't keep interrupting me."

"Listen here Tuffnut! I'm not the one-" Snotlout began, but he was interrupted by Fishlegs placing a hand on his mouth and pulling him backwards.

"Thanks Snotlout, but let's let Tuffnut speak," Fishlegs said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Thank you Fishlegs. Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," he threw a side glance at Snotlout as he said this, "I think Hiccup needs our help. Detective Tuffnut Thorston picked up on some weird behaviour during the meeting, and he concluded that Hiccup needs us to cheer him up."

"Seriously Tuff," Fishlegs began, his voice monotone as though someone had stated the obvious. "He just got back home after a month and a half of captivity. Of course he'll feel different."

"Did you not notice how he kept looking away whenever he mentioned he gave up the Hidden World?" Tuff continued. "Hiccup always hides his emotions from us, and although he doesn't really do a good job of doing so, he tries to avoid doing excessive things-" A thought struck Tuff, making him raise a hand in delight "-like burying his face in his hands! He actually did that in the meeting!"

"Now that you mention it, that was off," Heather said. "Hiccup wouldn't normally do these things because he'll always try to hide what he's really feeling."

"As usual, Detective Tuffnut comes to the rescue," Tuff announced proudly.

"Do you think he's…" Fishlegs began, but trailed off, whether unable or unwilling to continue the other former dragon riders didn't know.

"Broken?" Snotlout offered. Fishlegs gave a tiny nod. With a sigh, Snotlout spoke. "I think so. I've never seen Hiccup like this. And as much of a muttonhead I've been to him, I really care for him. And seeing him like this hurts." The others gave him puzzled looks. "What?" Snotlout said defensively. "Just because I act like I don't care doesn't mean I actually don't care."

"I've rarely seen the caring side of you," Fishlegs said.

"Shut it, Fishface," Snotlout said, crossing his hands.

"What should we do to help him though?" Heather asked. "He has everything he needs, I really don't see what else we can do for him."

"Okay so," Ruff said. "We have this really big explosion-"

"No explosions!" The others all said simultaneously, except for Tuff who was really keen on the idea.

"Fine," Ruff and Tuff said, admitting defeat.

"How about we just do whatever little things we can, like, I don't know, give him things that mean something to him or help him to do things or-"

"We get it Fishface," Snotlout interrupted.

"Alright then," Heather said. "That's settled then. Let's help our leader just as he has always helped us."

**Reviews:**

**Creeper AW MAM: Thanks! That's exactly the feeling I was trying to go for in these chapters.**

**Rico: New Draconia! Will it happen or will it not? Hmm…**

**A/N: From now on, I'll be putting author's note at the bottom. Also, I'm proud to announce that I've finished writing the whole story! So from now on, I'll update twice every weekend, unless I happen to be away. There will be minor updates to the pre-written chapters if I see something interesting, but nothing that changes the plot completely. Enjoy! **


	13. Chapter 13: We Care

Chapter 13: We Care

Sun sneaked in through the top window. Rays of light crawled along the opposite wall, and as the sun rose higher into the sky and got brighter the sun rays snuck down onto the front of the bed. The light irritated Hiccup, and he instinctively raised a hand to block out the sun. He tried raising his left master hand, but he soon realised he was unable to do so. Then he remembered.

He was home.

Sleeping in a bed with his beloved wife at his side again.

Hiccup rolled onto his left side and placed his right hand over Astrid, gently hugging her. Astrid had her back facing Hiccup, and he buried his face in her long blonde hair, inhaling her scent and thoroughly enjoying it.

Astrid stirred a little, but she remained fast asleep. Hiccup smiled. It has been way too long since he last felt this happy. Lying here with Astrid was the only thing he could focus on, and he was more than willing to remain here the whole day…

_Knock knock knock. _

Hiccup sat upright on the bed. _Who was here at this unearthly hour?_ Astrid stirred and rolled onto her right side, mumbling some incoherent words that sounded vaguely like a threat. Hiccup sighed. He wanted to lay in bed all morning with Astrid, but…

_Knock knock knock. _

…that was a mild hindrance to his plans. Putting on his prosthetic quickly, he grabbed his tunic off a chair and headed to answer the door before the knocking woke anyone else up.

When he opened the door, he was shocked to see Snotlout standing there, with a pie and a bottle of milk in his hand.

"Finally, you decide to open this door," Snotlout whined. "I've been here for almost ten minutes!"

"Wait, really?" Hiccup asked, genuine confusion evident in his voice. "I just heard the first knock about a minute ago."

"Time passes faster when you have food turning cold in your hand," Snotlout said. "Anyways, uh… here." He thrust the pie and milk to Hiccup. Hiccup took both the pie and milk in his arms before any of them could hit the floor.

"What's this?" Hiccup asked.

"It's a blueberry pie, muttonhead," Snotlout said. "Minden baked it for you because… uh… welcome back. And the yak milk's for you too. Bye!" With that, Snotlout bolted back down the steps and back to his home. Hiccup chuckled at the amusing sight. Knowing Snotlout cared for him brought a smile to his face, even though the stocky viking could never find the words to say it. Walking back into his home, he set the pie and milk on the table as Astrid and his children walked down the stairs from their bedrooms.

"What's this babe?" Astrid asked in a groggy voice as she rubbed her eyes.

"This is a 'welcome back' gift from Snotlout and Minden," Hiccup explained.

"I wonder if Snotlout asked for this or Minden initiated it," Astrid said.

"I'm not complaining," Nuffink chimed in. "Minden's pies are amazing."

"True that," Zephyr said with a mouthful of blueberry pie. "I don't know how I'm not fat from eating so much of her pie. Almost every time I see Smitelout there's pie on the table."

"Next time you go over bring some back for us, sis," Nuffink said, reaching over for a slice of the pie.

"Eat up, we have a long day today," Hiccup said. "Lots of preparations, and of course a day full of chiefing duties for the new chief." He glanced at Zephyr as he said the last part.

"Me?" Zephyr asked. "Don't you want to take back your role?"

"I don't mind stepping down from all that chiefing. Besides, I think I'm needed at the forge, since the only blacksmith on Berk has passed on." Hiccup said.

"You're doing fine, dear," Astrid said, noticing the worried look in Zephyr's face. "You've done well for the last month. Dad also probably wouldn't mind being in the forge instead of dealing with petty arguments and other things." Hiccup nodded his agreement.

After a little hesitation, Zephyr finally cheered up, confident that she was able to do the role. "Alright then Dad, you can be in the forge. I think a lot of weapons need repairing anyways. I'll do the chiefing, but you'll still be the chief. I'll be your assistant."

"Yes chief!" Hiccup said, giving a mock salute as well.

XX

The forge was a busy place. Almost everybody wanted something from the forge, whether it was a repair or a new tool or something random. In truth however, Astrid noticed that the Berkians were trying to find an excuse to spend pockets of time with Hiccup, their chief - or former chief… or current chief? They were quite confused. Either way, they thought he had died but somehow came back to them alive and healthy. Gothi checked on his wounds the previous day, and surprisingly, there was little infection, possibly because the hot rod had sealed and disinfected most of the wounds… Astrid winced at the thought. The whip marks and the burn marks were prominent on his back, and although he tried his best to hide it last night, she still saw it. Dark red burn marks from the red-hot rod criss-crossed with rough diagonal whip marks, leaving painful scars all across his back.

Despite all the pain he endured in the last month and a half however, Astrid admired that he still put up quite a brave front for the village. Hiccup would never admit his pain publicly, and although he did let his guard down a little the day before, he was still hiding a lot. The only one he would ever admit hurt to was her.

But now, he looked perfectly fine. He looked as though he had been working in the forge all his life. Well, it was true to a certain extent, but he hadn't had much free time to be free in the forge ever since he became chief. His hands, though, moved with such dexterity, such nimbleness, such accuracy, it seemed like he never left the forge at all. The way he rolled the dented sword in his hand, the way he inspected the severe bend…

"Astrid?" Hiccup's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yes?" Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she finally focused on her husband's voice.

"Were you staring at me again?" Hiccup asked playfully. "I know there's a lot of me to look at but could you pass me that hammer there, I've asked you three times but all this raw Vikingness seems to be distracting you."

Astrid looked behind her, and sure enough there was a hammer there. She grabbed it and turned back to face Hiccup, who had a smirk plastered on his face. Thinking of a way to get back at him, she responded as she passed him the hammer. "Oh please, I've seen all of you so many times already, I can describe to everyone in the queue every single detail. Want me to do so?"

It was her turn to have a smirk on her face as she watched his face turn crimson red, and he looked away from her and back to the dented sword. "Uh, no, it's okay, I'm sure they don't want to hear it." Hiccup said.

"Oh, we would," a man chimed in, adding to Hiccup's embarrassment.

"Good to see you too, Arvind," Hiccup retorted sarcastically.

Just then, the forge door opened. Hiccup and Astrid diverted their attention to the door, and watched as the terrible twins 'sneaked' in and took a piece of metal each from a pile of scrap metal in the corner. As they turned to leave back through the same door, they finally noticed the couple looking at them with questionable looks. Quickly putting the metal behind their backs, they looked back at Hiccup and Astrid with sheepish grins on their faces. Suddenly, Tuffnut burst out while pointing at Ruffnut. "It was her idea!"

"Uh, was not," Ruff shot back.

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was n-"

"Guys!" Hiccup interrupted. "What is going on?"

"Uh, good to see you too H," Tuff said, clearly avoiding the question. "Gotta go, bye, talk to you later." With that, he bolted out the door.

"Me too," Ruff said, and immediately followed in her brother's footsteps.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other for a moment, puzzled by the twins' newest antics. Then again, no one really understood what they were doing. Shrugging their shoulders simultaneously, they returned to their tasks.

"Mind if we join you guys?" A familiar voice sounded from the forge door. The two hard workers looked back at the door. Fishlegs and Heather stood there, carrying a basket, presumably with food inside. Hiccup waved them in, and they entered, setting the food down on the one table that wasn't crowded with tools or other materials.

"What's up guys?" Hiccup asked.

"Nothing, it's just that…" Fishlegs trailed off.

Heather sighed. "He's never good at expressing himself, to other humans at least. I don't know how he does it to Meatlug but not to us." They all chuckled at this statement. "Anyways, we just wanted to spend some time with you guys, especially since Hiccup has somehow returned from the dead, so we're here to help. And we brought lunch when you decide that staying here was better than heading to the Great Hall."

"Oh thank you," Astrid said. "I was wondering how I was going to get him to eat with everyone wanting to have something repaired or made."

"I'm not _that_ bad, am I?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure you aren't," Astrid replied. "Remember that time when you went a day without eating just to work on your flight suit? Or when you went another day without eating to work on the DragonEye? Or the other time when you forgot to eat for two days-"

"Alright, I get it," Hiccup raised his arms in defeat.

"Besides, you're gonna need a lot of fattening up. Skin and bones isn't what I would be expecting when I think of my husband," Astrid continued.

"Gee, thanks, that was very flattering," Hiccup sassed.

They all laughed again. Their friendly bantering and conversation continued through the day in the forge, and it reminded them so much of the time when they would all be in the clubhouse on the Edge, chatting and enjoying themselves over a meal. Fishlegs would normally be geeking out with Hiccup - if he wasn't with Astrid at least - and this time was no different; Fishlegs was geeking out about the dragon Hiccup and Astrid rode back to Berk. The two of them were trying to figure out what class the dragon belonged to, and what its abilities may be based on its features. Meanwhile, Astrid and Heather were having a conversation about many different topics, ranging from various fighting moves and the students they taught these moves to all the way to how difficult it is to wake Hiccup and Fishlegs up in the morning. This continued throughout the day, and the sky turned dark in the blink of an eye.

Hiccup turned the key, locking up the forge after a long day's work. Fishlegs, Heather, and Astrid had left slightly earlier, and he was left alone to lock up the place. As he turned to leave, he was greeted by two blonde-haired people. Ruff and Tuff stood in front of him with eager eyes and their hands behind their backs. Seeing them in this position put Hiccup on alert. It was typical of them to set up a trap and watch as their victim fell for it. Hiccup stayed completely still and looked around him, wary of any wires or suspended items that might cause him to smell like yak dung or taste like honey.

After looking around and spotting nothing, Hiccup finally decided to ask them. "Where's the trap, guys?"

Tuff put his right hand on his cheek, as though he was hurt by what Hiccup said. "Oh my Thor, Hiccup, I'm surprised that you'll think of us like that. There's nothing at all."

"Yeah Hiccup," Ruff chimed in. "I'm disappointed in you. How could you think so lowly of us?"

"Alright, sorry guys," Hiccup said. "It's just that you have the tendency to… you know…"

"Blow stuff up?" Tuff offered. "Yeah, that's amazing. But you know what's even better?"

"Canned explosions!" Ruff said.

"Here, take a look H," Tuff said, and the twins moved their hands from behind their backs. In both their hands lay a total of five metallic spheroids, with a button on one side. The button took up almost the entirety of the top half. It was slightly smaller than the size of a palm, but it was flat enough to fit in one's pocket.

"What's this?" Hiccup asked.

"They're bombs, weren't you listening?" Ruff chided.

"You press this button, and it blows up," Tuff explained. "Well that's what we wanted it to do, but instead it seems to blow up only when you press and release the button. Here, let me show y-"

"No no no no, there's no need for that," Hiccup quickly intervened, grabbing Tuff's hand to prevent him from wreaking havoc near the forge.

"Anyway, we tested it already, and it's way better than Zippleback gas," Tuff said, shrugging his shoulders.

"It blew through the metal we, uh, didn't take from the forge," Ruff looked at Tuff with a sheepish grin, "and it blew right through the few sheets of metal and destroyed the dragon-proof rocks behind it."

"Wait, we have dragon-proof material here?" Hiccup asked.

"Uh, duh, at the far side of the island, there's a whole cliffside made out of it," Ruff said in a way that suggested that Hiccup was a fool for missing it.

"What's inside these bombs?" Hiccup asked.

"A very insightful question, my dear Hiccup," Tuff said in a tone that reminded Hiccup very much of Detective Tuffnut. "You see, we have no idea. We found it in your satchel. It's this silvery grey powder, and it seems to be super explosive."

Hiccup shuddered for a moment, as glimpses of Krizzen's torture flashed through his mind. The feeling of the small cloth bags exploding on his bare skin, sending waves of pain through his body, the smell of singed flesh entering his nostrils… Hiccup unconsciously reached out a hand to touch the scars left from the burns. Ruff noticed Hiccup's eyes were no longer focusing on the bombs, but were instead looking at nothing in particular. She reached out a hand to touch Hiccup on the shoulder, and he flinched.

"Are you okay?" Ruff asked.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine," Hiccup stuttered out.

"You don't seem very fine to me," Tuff stated. As much as they seemed like major pranksters, and acted like major pranksters, they were still good friends of Hiccup and they cared for him, and although they seemed oblivious to anyone's feelings, the truth is they could read one's feelings well, but chose to ignore them half the time. Their sensitivity in this moment touched Hiccup, and he was brought back to the present, and all thoughts of Krizzen's torment faded into the background.

"Yeah, I just… had an unpleasant memory," he replied. Ruff and Tuff continued to look at him with concerned and suspicious looks respectively, and he merely smiled back at them.

Finally, Tuff sighed. "I guess you'll be okay. Here," he thrust the bombs to Hiccup, and Hiccup had to scramble to grab all the bombs while avoiding the buttons. "This is a welcome back gift."

"And an 'I care for you, don't do that again' gift," Ruff added. Hiccup's lips curled up into a wider smile, and his eyes were filled with gratitude. Not so much at their gift, because honestly, what would he do with explosive bombs? Rather, it was their thoughtfulness that moved him. Knowing that his friends were all there and cared for him made him much happier and feel better.

"Thanks guys," Hiccup said. With a wave, the twins left back to their home, and Hiccup left to his home as well.

**A/N: The next chapter is where the battle starts! I hope you enjoy. The next two chapters are also pre-uploaded, so I wouldn't be responding to reviews in the next few chapters. **

**If anyone has any ideas for stories, please comment them too. I don't mind starting a new story, I need something to occupy my time. **


	14. Chapter 14: Battle of the Hidden World,1

Chapter 14: Battle of the Hidden World, Part 1

A week passed within a blink of an eye. Hiccup had given them a week for them to prepare for the war, since they were much closer to the Hidden World than Krizzen. The forge was packed with activity; everyone wanted their weapons repaired and new armour made since it has been quite a while since they last used their equipment for a real fight. Catapults and bolas were being loaded onto the ships, not to fight the dragons Hiccup had said, but to attack Krizzen's ships. A whole armada of at least thirty Berkian ships were at the docks, being loaded with crates and weapons that would help them survive and win the war. They had packed enough food to survive out at sea for at least two weeks. Hiccup's plan was to reach the Hidden World before Krizzen, and call out the dragons to help them fight against Krizzen. Based on his calculations, Berk would reach the Hidden World at least three days before Krizzen, two days if Krizzen could travel at lightning speeds, which was still more than enough time for them to set up their defences.

"I've been thinking," Hiccup said as he overlooked the loading of the ships. "Krizzen said something that worried me quite a bit."

Astrid looked at him, indicating he should continue. "He said he had a device that could control the dragons and get them to obey him. What kind of device could it be? The closest thing I can think of is the Deathgripper venom, but even then Krizzen couldn't insert it into dragons without that special harness, and it would take him a long time to insert it into all the dragons. How could one device control all the dragons? Do you think it's possible?"

Astrid shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know. It's possible. How would you counter it though?"

"Toothless can," Hiccup said. "I mean, he's the alpha after all."

"The last time you thought that Grimmel almost beat us," Astrid remarked. Hiccup looked out to the docks, deep in thought. Finally, with an exasperated sigh, he turned to Astrid. "I really don't know what to expect," he admitted.

"Hiccup," Astrid said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It'll be fine. The bond you and Toothless have is special. I'm sure that can counter any controlling device that Krizzen may have."

"What about the rest of the dragons?" Hiccup asked. "We can't let them fall into Krizzen's hands. We might have our dragons on our side but if the rest of the dragons fall to Krizzen we don't stand much of a chance."

"We've trained before, remember?" Astrid said. "We fought off those Singetails and Drago's dragon army. We can fight Krizzen too, even if he has the dragons."

"I sure hope you're right…"

XX

Dark clouds cast a grey shadow over the waters, and heavy rain poured from the skies. Although it was a month or so into winter, the Hidden World lay further south, and snow was less frequent than rains. Water streamed from the sky like a waterfall, and the visibility was so bad that the bows of the ships behind were almost touching the sterns of the ships ahead. Marine animals scuttled out of the way of the ships as the bottom of the ships cut through the rocky waves on their path to the Hidden World. The leading vessel contained all the members of the council, and that included the Haddock family, the Thorston twins, the Jorgensons, the Ingermans, and the son of Eret. Catapults loaded with boulders were placed along the right side of the ship, and the crates and other bulky items were placed on the left to counterbalance the weight of the catapults. Behind them were the rest of the Berkian ships, organised in a triangle formation until the fifth row, following which the remaining five rows had five ships in it.

Hiccup was fully decked out in his dragon-scale armour. The dark red scales gave out a scary vibe, and any person unlucky enough to find themselves on the wrong side of him would surely cower in fear. No other Vikings on any tribe Hiccup saw before had any armour close to this, and he really looked a formidable opponent, not that his fighting skills would take any threat away from him. Beside him stood Astrid, the former shield maiden of Berk, but her skills were just as sharp as ever. Fully clad in her light blue dragon-scale armour with an axe slung behind her back, she looked just as threatening as her husband. The other former dragon riders were wearing all their respective armour as well, all ready to fight any enemy that happened to stand in their way.

All the Berkians had their eyes peeled, looking out for any signs that they were near the Hidden World. The sound of water falling down a waterfall should be a sign that they were close, but the heavy rain masked that sound, and all they could rely on was their limited vision.

Suddenly, the water ahead gave way to a waterfall. "Hard to starboard!" Hiccup's voice rang out. Echoes of "Hard to starboard!" could be heard across the Berkian armada, as all the ships behind followed in the path of the leading vessel. As soon as they were clear from the waterfall, Berkians tasked with dropping the anchor fulfilled their role, holding the ships in place above the caldera.

Peering cautiously over the left side, the Berkians looked down at the Hidden World for the first time. The sight of the giant caldera amazed them, and they watched as the water flowed down the caldera in an endless stream. A few small rocks lay on the side of the caldera, where a couple of stubborn plants were desperately clinging on to survival. A light mist rose from the caldera, made from the updraft of wind and the droplets from the splash at the bottom of the first waterfall. The mist was barely visible among the heavy rain though.

"Toothless!" Hiccup's voice rang out. The only response he received, however, was the pitter patter of the rain on the wooden deck and the splashing of the waves against the ship. Using his hand to shield his eyes from the downpour, he looked over the edge of the ship and into the Hidden World, watching carefully for any movement or a black shape against the white mist and rain.

Time passed, and all the Berkians continued to wait in tense silence. The only form of conversation was hushed whispers between a few people, many others preferring to watch for any sign that the dragons were in there. After all, it has been twenty years since the Berkians saw their beloved scaly friends. In fact, there were quite a number of warriors below the age of twenty, and they had never seen a dragon, merely heard tales from their parents.

As the rain continued to fall and the clouds began to ease ever so slightly, but still pouring enough water to obscure most of their vision, worry began to wash over their faces, especially Hiccup's. _Toothless should've been up here by now, has something happened?_ His fingers began picking at the edge of the ship, playing with a few large splinters that stuck out of the planks. His hand alternated between scratching his head and wiping the rain off his face. Finally, he turned around and let out an exasperated sigh. "What if Krizzen got here already? I might have messed up my calculations, and he might have the dragons already. Oh Thor, what am I supposed to-"

A roar of a dragon broke through his thoughts, and all the Berkians rushed to the side of their respective ships, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the dragons. Hiccup peered into the caldera again, waiting to see his best friend.

Suddenly, a dark form shot up from the caldera at an extremely fast speed, followed closely by a white form, and another two dark forms and another white form. The Berkians watched as the silhouettes of the five dragons hovered in the air, eyeing the Berkian fleet. The heavy rain prevented them from getting a clear view of the dragons. There was a tense moment as the Berkians watched the dragons and the dragons watched the Berkians. Hiccup walked to the bow of the ship as it was closest to the dragons. Holding on to the handrails, he watched as the five dragons scanned the fleet. He was waiting for Toothless to come down onto his ship, and greet him with the licks that he always pretended to hate, and he would pat the scaly snout of his best friend-

A purple light began to grow brighter and larger, and it stemmed from the five silhouettes in the sky. Despair and anxiousness were evident in Hiccup's face. _The dragons were attacking them! They're attacking us!_ He knew that the fleet wouldn't stand a chance against the dragons, especially if the alpha called out all the other dragons to help in this fight. There were only so many catapults against a massive number of dragons, and he really didn't want to hurt the dragons in any way. Finally, as a last ditch resort, Hiccup cupped both his hands around his mouth, and while looking in the direction of the silhouettes, he bellowed as loudly as possible.

"TOOTHLESS!"

The purple lights vanished, replaced by the five silhouettes again. Suddenly, the five silhouettes dove straight for the leading vessel, and five loud thumps could be heard. The dragons landed on the ship, and they could clearly see a Night Fury, a Light Fury, and three Night Lights. The Night Lights had grown to the size of adult Night Furies. The Night Fury immediately jumped onto the bow of the ship. All the members of the council watched as the Night Fury eyed up their former chief. The Night Fury slowly advanced, and Hiccup walked back slowly, hand outstretched towards the dragon. When the Night Fury finally reached the outstretched hand, he gave a sniff. The Berkians held their breath, anticipating the worst. What if it wasn't Toothless? What if he was already under Krizzen's control?

Suddenly, the Night Fury's pupils widened in familiarity, and he pounced on Hiccup. A wet tongue stuck out from the Night Fury, and the tongue began to lick Hiccup vigorously from bottom to top.

"Toothless, you know that doesn't wash out!" Hiccup protested.

Everyone released a breath, and they began to chuckle at the humorous sight in front of them. Toothless was definitely fine, and he definitely recognised his best friend. He kept licking Hiccup all over, completely ignoring the whims and protests from his former rider. Gooey, sticky dragon spit covered Hiccup all over. Nonetheless, the joy of seeing his best friend once again overruled his disgust.

Soon after, the other dragons flew out of the Hidden World and descended onto the deck, making themselves visible among the heavy downpour. Stormfly landed on the deck first, followed by Hookfang, Barf and Belch, Meatlug and Fishmeat, Windshear, Skullcrusher, and Cloudjumper. The other dragons who used to stay on Berk also flew up and landed on the other decks.

"Oh Stormfly, it's so good to see you girl." "Hookie! Come to papa!" "Barf!" "Belch!" "Windshear!" "Meatlug! Fishmeat! Who's a good girl… and boy? Who's a good girl?" "Good to see ya too yer stupid reptile." "Oh Cloudjumper, it's been so long…" An emotional sight it was, seeing all the dragon riders and Berkians reunited with their dragons. They all hugged their dragons in happiness, glad to be reunited with their friends.

Hiccup got up and hugged Toothless' snout, and after a few minutes, he finally let go of his scaly black snout. Patting the unholy offspring of lightning and death, he began to talk to his dragon. "Good to see you bud, but I'm afraid we have some business to do." Toothless let out a croon of confusion. "We have new enemies. They're coming to get you. I don't know what weapons they have, but we have at least two days to prepare. How about a scouting flight, bud?" The mention of the word 'flight' always made Toothless jump around in delight, regardless of the situation. It was no different this time, even more so since Toothless hadn't had a flight with his rider for ten years. He bounded on the bow of the ship with his front and back legs, and his tongue hung out of his mouth in happiness. Hiccup laughed at the sight of his best friend doing such antics. It was funny how the fearsome Night Fury acted like a little puppy whenever he was around his rider. Reaching into his saddlebag, Hiccup pulled out the saddle that he made for Toothless. "Keep still, bud, it's hard enough to put this on without you bouncing all over," he said to Toothless. He placed the saddle onto Toothless' back, and began doing the straps…

"Hiccup, look out!" Astrid yelled, pointing above him.

Hiccup's head darted to where she was pointing. A boulder was heading directly towards him. "Toothless, move!" He yelled, pushing his dragon away from him. Hiccup and Toothless scampered in opposite directions just as the boulder crashed through the bow of the ship, sending splinters and small wood planks flying and creating a boulder-sized hole that led directly into the rough sea. Water began to flood into the hull, where their living quarters were. They didn't have time to think about losing their living space, however. Another boulder came flying in and crashed into the deck of the ship just beside the mast. Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Minden, and Hookfang scampered away as the third boulder crashed into the side of the ship, damaging the handrail and sending a couple of catapults into the sea.

Boulders kept flying in, some of them connecting with the Berkian ships anchored there, while some of them fell harmlessly into the waters. Most of the damage was being done to the ships nearest to the front, while those at the back were relatively untouched. Masts were broken, decks were splintered, crates were destroyed; many of their ships and provisions were quickly become unusable. Berkians kept running around, trying to avoid the boulders while saving whatever resources they could as well. Hiccup looked around, and he saw chaos.

"I don't understand, how did they get here so early?" Hiccup wondered aloud to Astrid.

"Not the time, Hiccup," Astrid warned. "Organise them first!"

"BERK!" He shouted over the falling rain and the crashing boulders. The Berkians turned to look at their previous chief. "Man the catapults! Return fire!" Immediately, the Berkians set about doing what he commanded. Men and women worked in a systematic team to load the catapults and fire back in the direction. As soon as the first few boulders were fired back, the crashing and splintering of wood could be heard. The boulders being fired at them decreased, and there was more breathing room. There were still some boulders being fired at them though, but most were not causing any further damage.

Sensing the opportunity, Hiccup quickly directed his team on the leading vessel. "Mom, Eret, help move the people to safer vessels." Nodding their acknowledgement, Valka and Eret mounted their dragons and took off. "Zeph, Nuffink, Smite, Erica, help to salvage whatever you can from the wrecked ships. Toothless, could you get your mate and your hatchlings to help them?" Toothless warbled his acknowledgement, and let out a roar. The Light Fury and the Night Lights responded in kind, and they ducked their heads to allow the young Berkians to mount onto them, well, except for the Light Fury, who ignored Smitelout's protests as she picked Smitelout up with her talons. Once they did so, the dragons took off towards Valka and Eret. "The rest of us, sky!" Hiccup commanded. Everyone immediately set off to their respective dragons, and quickly placed their saddles on and mounted them. Within a few seconds, everyone was high up in the sky, awaiting Hiccup's next instructions. The cold rain was beating against their faces, and the visibility was still very low.

"Let's go closer and take a better look," Hiccup said, shielding his face from the rain. They flew towards where the boulders came from, the water entering their eyes despite their best efforts to keep it out.

As they approached the source of the boulder shower, wooden ships began to materialise through the heavy rain. They were about the same design as the Berkian ships, and were much more numerous than the Berkian fleet. Their sails had a large yellow insignia on it that showed two swords criss-crossed over a dragon that looked a lot like a Slitherwing, and the design was surrounded by a circle. There were ships in rows of tens just behind the leading ship, and each of the ships had catapults that were causing the boulders to drop like rain from the sky. Most of the ships had minor damage like broken railings and catapults from the Berkians returning fire, while some of the ships had their masts broken or large holes through the deck, causing the ship to sink. All the ships were stacked with cages made from dragon-proof material. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what Krizzen intended to do with all the dragons.

Speaking of which, he was there. Cloaked in metal armour that was painted a deep black all over and a metal helmet that had a grey finish, he stood at the bow of the leading vessel, hands behind his back as he watched the sky.

"Krizzen!" Hiccup called out through the thundery sky.

"Hiccup!" Krizzen responded. "So nice to see you again!"

A small shudder ran through Hiccup's body as he heard the voice that plagued his nightmares, but he shrugged it off and hid it behind a cool voice.

"Guys! Destroy the catapults of the front ships!" Hiccup ordered. Hearing the orders of their leader, the riders immediately set off on their missions. Astrid and Snotlout set off to the right. Some of the boulders were shot directly at them, but they dodged it expertly. Stormfly ducked under a poorly shot boulder, and shot a stream of magnesium fire directly at the perpetrator responsible for it. The men scrambled out of their way as their catapult was incinerated. "Good girl," Astrid cooed, patting her dragon lovingly on her head. Hookfang flew out of the way of a boulder, and landed on the deck of a ship. He gave a menacing growl, and looked at the men with threatening slitted pupils. The men approached him and Snotlout slowly, weapons at the ready. "Flame up, Hookie," Snotlout said. On cue, Hookfang's body rose in flames. The men panicked and scrambled away, allowing Hookfang to destroy the catapults without resistance.

Fishlegs and Heather flew off to the left. They worked together, one of them drawing fire while the other shot at the catapults. Meatlug spewed lava on the catapults, and Windshear sent bright blue fire flying directly at the catapults and masts of the ships. Men jumped out of the way, some even jumped overboard into the choppy seas just to stay alive. The couple high-fived each other, and continued to fight the other ships.

Hiccup and the twins took on the center ships. Barf spewed toxic Zippleback gas on as many ships as possible, obscuring the vision of the men operating the catapults and causing them to cough and splutter as they choked on the fumes. "Do it, Belch," Tuff said to his half of the Zippleback. Belch let a spark out of his mouth, and immediately the ships that were engulfed in the toxic green gas blew up. Meanwhile, Toothless was expertly avoiding boulders, dodging and strafing to the sides as the boulders passed harmlessly around him. He shot plasma blasts at the catapults, sending men scrambling. The base of the masts were shot as well, causing it to fall precariously onto the ships, destroying the bows of the ships.

Satisfied with their work, the dragon riders regrouped back in the sky, out of reach of the catapults. "How did you get here so fast?" Hiccup asked Krizzen.

"It's simple," he replied. "I knew exactly where this place was. It's really good how small details can make quite a difference."

"Who told you these details?" Hiccup pressed.

"You," Krizzen replied coolly.

"I never revealed any small details…"

"Not to me directly, but you did."

Hiccup was at a loss. Had he really revealed even more details to Krizzen? Did he really just endanger the dragons, and then endanger Berk?

"There's one more thing," Krizzen said. "I had these guys to help me." As he said this, large shapes began to appear from the water. These silhouettes became bigger and bigger, and the ships began to shake from the movement. Soon after, the large shapes surfaced, causing water to fall all over the place. Eight humongous dragons rose out of the water and took flight. They were all the same breed as Shineterror, but differed slightly in terms of their shades of grey. Each dragon was pulling about six to ten ships using ropes.

"Whoa…" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"Seriously, dragons?" Snotlout scoffed. "You know Toothless is the alpha right? He can command them."

Hiccup patted his dragon on the head, indicating he should do so. Toothless warbled at his rider, and turning his head back to the six gigantic dragons, Toothless let out an ear-splitting roar.

But the dragons did not comply. In fact, instead of following Toothless' orders - whatever they may be - they roared back at Toothless aggressively. Toothless let out a confused warble, and looked back at Hiccup as if to say '_I don't understand why that failed'_. Krizzen chuckled to himself. He stretched his arms out wide, gesturing to the large dragons that hovered menacingly behind him.

"Hiccup, meet _the Rebels_!"


	15. Chapter 15: Battle of the Hidden World,2

Chapter 15: Battle of the Hidden World, Part 2

"Hiccup, meet _the Rebels!_"

The dragons roared in unison. They looked a menacing force, hovering there in the sky. Their eyes were narrowed into slits, and these sinister eyes glared directly at the dragon riders. Their grey scales shone even brighter because of the water on it, and their threatening size gave the riders a chill.

"I found these bad boys as I scoured the edge of the archipelago," Krizzen explained. "My man here says they probably don't listen because their brains are underdeveloped, much like baby dragons." As he said this, the hooded rider came and stood beside Krizzen. Hiccup and Astrid knew who he was, but the rest didn't. "They wouldn't listen to the alpha, but they do listen to those they trust and respect."

"How would these guys trust and respect you?" Snotlout asked. "You're tying them to your ships!"

"There's always other ways," Krizzen said, his head looking down and releasing an exasperated sigh.

"So Hiccup," Krizzen continued, his head snapping back up to the leader of the riders. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Either way I get the dragons. Which way do you want?"

"We're never giving you the dragons," Hiccup said forcefully.

"Have it your way," Krizzen said. With that, he looked at Shineterror - the Rebel dragon closest to him - and he snapped his fingers and waved his arm in the direction of the riders. Shineterror looked at Krizzen, and he faced the riders and gave a loud roar. All the other Rebels roared in unison, and suddenly a bright blue light could be seen in each of their mouths.

"Evasive manoeuvers!" Hiccup called out. All the dragon riders immediately pushed and pulled on the saddles of their dragons, and not a second too late as the light blue fire from the Rebels skimmed their clothing. They dodged a few more shots with surprising ease, until eventually the Rebels stopped firing. Taking advantage of this, Hiccup signalled the riders to break the ropes tying the Rebels to the ships. The riders did as they were told, firing blasts at the ropes and freeing all the Rebels.

"Go free!" Hiccup shouted at the Rebels, waving his arms to tell them to fly away. The Rebels looked back at the broken ropes, and hovered uncertainly for a moment. Hiccup watched with hope, hoping that they would fly away and that everything will be fine. He watched with bated breath, because who knew what these dragons would really do?

Finally, the Rebels made up their mind. They turned back to Hiccup, and roared so loudly that the riders had to close their ears to block out the sound.

"Does that mean let's go or not?" Snotlout said.

"They're not moving, Hiccup," Fishlegs said with a worried tone. Sure enough, the Rebels refused to fly away. They kept hovering there, keeping a close eye on the riders and prepared to fire more shots if necessary.

"Stop!" Krizzen called out among the sound of heavy downpour. All the riders and Rebels turned to look at him. "It's time to put an end to this fun little time." As he said this, he raised up something that looked like a horn in his right hand. It stretched from Krizzen's waist to slightly above his head. There were three buttons in the middle, and it was made completely out of dragon-proof material.

"This is the end, Hiccup." Krizzen lifted the mouthpiece of the horn to his mouth, and he blew into it. A low pulsating sound could be heard, but apart from that the riders couldn't hear anything else.

"Seriously, that's the best you've got?" Snotlout mocked. Krizzen didn't reply to him. After a few seconds though, his mouth stretched into an evil smirk.

"You shouldn't concern yourself with the best I got, but rather be concerned that I've got your best," Krizzen said. "Look at your dragons."

The Berkian riders looked down at their dragons. Nothing seemed amiss from their perspective. The dragons looked exactly the same. "Yeah, nothing's changed," Snotlout said. "But your face is going to change once I'm done with it. Hookie, fire!" Snotlout pointed straight at Krizzen. He waited for Hookfang to respond to his command; sometimes the Nightmare chose to ignore his rider for a while.

"By today, Hookfang," Snotlout whined.

But Hookfang merely continued to hover in the air, as if he hadn't heard his rider at all.

"Hookfang! Fire already!" Snotlout shouted, frustration evident in his tone.

But Hookfang did not fire.

"Uhh, Hiccup," Fishlegs said, worry creeping into his voice. "Why are Hookfang's pupils slits?" Hiccup turned to look at Hookfang. Sure enough, his pupils were narrowed into aggressive slits, completely unlike the friendly dilated pupils that all their dragons usually had. In fact, all the dragons had slitted pupils as well. By now, all the riders had noticed this as well, and they were beginning to feel worried.

"I see you've figured it out," Krizzen said, drawing the attention of the riders back to him.

"What did you do?" Hiccup asked angrily.

"I made a beautiful device that works perfectly, that's what," Krizzen responded cheerily. The riders continued to glare at Krizzen, waiting for him to say more. Finally, with a chuckle, he continued speaking. "You know the hypnotizing effect that the Bewilderbeast had? This horn creates the same hypnotizing sound as the Bewilderbeast. So… you can probably guess what happened to your beloved dragons. Do you like it? I spent the last ten years perfecting it. I call it Mjolnir, just because it's that great."

The riders stared in shock. How did someone manage to create such a powerful device? Being able to hypnotize and gain control of the dragons meant that he could actually use them to defeat any enemy… Hiccup shuddered at the thought.

"And now," Krizzen said, interrupting their thoughts. "Your dragons are come to me without any hassle." As he said this, he pressed one of the three buttons with his finger, and he placed the horn at his mouth. Knowing what was about to happen, Hiccup ordered the riders to cover the ears of their dragons. The dragon riders complied, and quickly placed their hands over the ears of their dragons. Krizzen blew the horn, and the riders braced themselves. Thankfully, their dragons didn't respond to the sound, but they didn't snap out of their trance-like state either.

Just as they thought they were out of the blue however, loud roars could be heard behind them. Suddenly, a large flock of dragons flew past them towards Krizzen. Hiccup turned to look at the dragons, and he suddenly realised what had happened. They might have been able to prevent Krizzen from taking their dragons, but Krizzen had managed to take the Berkian dragons.

All the Berkian dragons.

Hiccup watched as Monstrous Nightmares flew past him. Gronckles that belonged to the A-team flew past him too. He also recognised Gothi's flock of Terrible Terrors. Fishlegs watched in horror as Fishmeat flew off Meatlug and towards Krizzen. However, one thing caught Hiccup's eye. The Rebels were unaffected by the horn.

"Do you finally understand the power I have, Hiccup?" Krizzen taunted as the Berkian dragons landed on Krizzen's ships, pupils still narrowed into tiny slits. "I have the dragons, and you're helpless to do anything!" Krizzen's smug smile irked all the dragon riders, but they were helpless to do anything.

Pressing another button, Krizzen blew into the horn. All the Berkian dragons faced the riders, and the riders watched with horror as the mouths of the dragons began to glow various shades of red and orange. They closed their eyes and braced themselves for impact, and they heard the sound of the dragons firing in unison towards them.

But they were untouched. Not a single shot hit them. The riders slowly opened their eyes, and looked at each other. Confusion could be seen in all their faces. Some of them even shrugged their shoulders at each other.

"Uh, you missed, doofus," Ruff said.

"Did I?" Krizzen remarked, the smirk on his face stretching even wider.

"We're still alive and flying here, so yes you did," Tuff remarked. But Krizzen kept the smirk on his face, smiling cheekily at the rider.

Then it struck Hiccup. He turned around to look at his fleet.

What he saw was something out of his nightmares.

The Berkian armada was a mess. Almost every ship was damaged, and most of them were in flames despite the heavy rain. A bright orange glow emanated from the fleet. Masts were collapsing onto the decks, and catapults were slowly sliding off the ships into the rough seas. Some of the ships were tilted at angles that shouldn't be possible, and Berkians were clinging onto anything on the ships to avoid falling into the rough sea. There was no hope in surviving in those waters. Even if they didn't drown within the first five minutes, the current would drag them too far for any hope of rescue. Despite this, some Berkians were unlucky as the tilting of the ships left them helpless as they slid straight into the waters. Some Berkians also opted to jump into the water to extinguish their flaming clothes. Hiccup watched in horror as his people suffered. Pressing on Toothless' head, Hiccup commanded his dragon. "C'mon bud, we need to save them!"

But Toothless didn't budge. Hiccup took a look at his best friend. Toothless's eyes were still narrowed into slits, and nothing he said seemed to be registering.

Krizzen let out a loud evil laugh. "They'll be in that state for the next fifteen minutes or so. You're helpless!"

Hiccup's face fell even further. He couldn't do anything at all. He was stranded.

"You can keep your dragons," Krizzen taunted again. "I have more than enough. You're helpless with your dragons anyway. Just look at yourselves now! Enjoy the view!" Having said what he wanted to say, he turned around and ordered his men to sail away. The riders watched helplessly as Krizzen's fleet turned around and sailed back the way they came. He had just taken all the dragons, and they were powerless to do anything at all. They couldn't go after him, and neither could they go and save the Berkians.

Hiccup refused to turn around, unable to watch as his people perished either in the choppy seas or on the flaming decks. The cries and pleas from the Berkians haunted his ears as he lay flat on Toothless, covering his face with his hands. The rain continued to beat down onto his drenched back and through his drenched hair. The overcast weather definitely reflected his mood. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…" he muttered over and over to himself as the tears of despair and helplessness rolled down his cheeks. He lay there for a few minutes as the cries for help slowly died down and all he was left with was the sound of the falling rain. The other dragon riders felt just as powerless. A deathly silence fell among them as they tried to drown out what was happening behind them. No one bothered to hide the tears that were flowing freely down their faces. Some brave - or foolish - souls decided to brave a look behind them, and the sight that greeted their eyes chilled them to the bone. People were desperately clinging on to anything they could reach, trying to prevent themselves from falling into the sea. Berkians held tightly onto their family members. But many of them were unsuccessful, and they watched with fearful eyes as their friends and loved ones fell into the deadly seas, thrashing in vain against the strong currents that gradually pulled them underwater and eventually forced them to inhale seawater until their lungs could no longer draw in fresh air. Even the twins who were usually cheerful and generally oblivious to their surroundings were especially solemn. No one dared to make a sound- no one _wanted _to make a sound. Nothing could be said to ease the weight of the situation. All they could do was wait for their dragons to snap out of their trance-like state…

Toothless shook his head, and he let out a worried croon. He felt the weight of his rider's body on the top of his neck and head, and he immediately knew that something was off with him. Hiccup would never lie on him unless he was feeling down. However, the moment Hiccup heard Toothless' croon, he snapped into an upright position. He looked around at all the other dragons, and sure enough they were slowly snapping out of their hypnosis. Wiping his bloodshot eyes with his drenched hands and pushing away his despair, he barked orders at the other riders. "Move! Save whoever we can!" The riders pat their dragons on their heads, instructing them to move. All the dragons swooped down to the sea, and began to grab whoever they could out of the water. A few cries of relief could be heard from the Berkians. The dragon riders were doing their best, pulling two or three people out of the water at a time and dropping them on the closest ship that wasn't threatening to sink. Their efforts continued for a long time, and the dragons were starting to tire significantly from having to carry so many people at a time.

Suddenly, a dragon roar came from above them. Toothless instantly recognised it, and turned his head to roar back in the direction of the sound. Hiccup and the dragon riders looked up, and to their surprise, they saw Cloudjumper and Valka, Skullcrusher and Eret, the Light Fury hovering there, and the three Night Lights carrying Zephyr, Nuffink, and Erica.

"How are these dragons still here?" Fishlegs asked.

"We closed their ears, just like you did," Zephyr replied.

"Yeah, we were close enough to see you guys did, but not near enough to see Krizzen though," Nuffink added.

"Not the time guys," Hiccup said urgently. "Help us save them," he waved a hand at the Berkians fighting for their lives.

All the new riders nodded, and headed off to save whoever they could. They joined the main team of dragon riders in diving towards the sea and grabbing whoever they could. The dragons clutched Berkians by their talons and deposited them on relatively stable decks, and the riders would try and pull out whoever they could with their hands.

But despite their best efforts, it wasn't enough.

They were doing too little, too late.

And Hiccup knew that. Grief could be seen in his eyes. The tears were rolling down his cheeks again, blending in with the rain beating down on his face. Despite this, he kept pushing Toothless on, and Toothless would grab as many people out of the water as he could while at the same time he would reach into the water and grab whoever he could with his hands. But deep inside another emotion was stirring, and minute traces of it could be seen in the slight baring of his teeth and the low growling in his throat.

It was anger.


	16. Chapter 16: Expedition

Chapter 16: Expedition

The Great Hall was unusually quiet. Usually after something bad happened, all the Vikings would be creating a rowdy scene, demanding answers to questions that sometimes had painfully obvious answers or no answers at all, or simply chanting for action to be taken. After all, it was in their nature to fight, and fight they will. But despite all the noise and chaos created every time, they would usually end up rallying each other against the cause, and they would probably charge into battle and fight valiantly until one side concedes defeat.

This time, however, was different. Everyone was silent, apart from the occasional whisper or mumble. They were still processing what had happened, and how did it happen. How did Krizzen overwhelm them - and their dragons - within a span of fifteen minutes? How did they lose a battle within fifteen minutes? Although they had the entire day-long trip back to Berk to process this, most of them were still in shock. After all, most battles last at least a few hours. But this one took fifteen minutes. _Fifteen minutes! _

Hiccup replayed the events of that day in his mind as he waited for the rest of the village to gather. The dragon riders had continued to save whoever they could for quite a while, and with the Rebels destroying almost every single ship it took a lot of their strength and endurance to keep doing so. However, as they grew tired, their movements became more sluggish, and they were slowing down significantly. They still kept flying to and fro though, pulling whoever they could. But their hopes had slowly been crushed and they had become more and more demoralised as they began to pull out less survivors and more… non-survivors. Hiccup winced a little at the memory. Cheers of delight when a rider pulled out another living family member had slowly been replaced by wails of despair as the riders confirmed the loss of a loved one. Eventually they had all collapsed on a relatively undamaged ship, and after a short break they had taken off again to help repair the salvageable ships so that they could make their way back. By this time, silence had thickened the atmosphere around the Berkian fleet. People slowly began to realise that they had lost the battle of the Hidden World in an inhumanely short amount of time. The silence from the Berkians had metaphorically suffocated Hiccup as he helped out with the repairs, because he knew that this was his fault since he was the one who rallied them to defend the Hidden World.

But that had failed spectacularly, and here they were, gathering in the Great Hall, waiting for their chief to tell them something, or anything actually. The silence was unnerving every single person in the room, yet no one wanted to speak in fear of agitating someone who had lost a loved one. All eyes rested on the chief, who was eyeing the place with visible apprehension and nervousness. Toothless also stood by Hiccup's side, watching his rider struggle.

After a period of hesitation and deliberation, Hiccup decided that it was time for him to speak. "So, uh... about yesterday… uh… we… we didn't do well, but that-that doesn't mean that we will always lose… we can… uh… fight again and win…" Hiccup gave a weak smile and pumped his fist awkwardly in a way that reminded many of them of the awkward 15-year-old boy that he was.

"Is this a joke to you, chief?" A man in the crowd snarled.

"Yeah, chief, my son is dead thanks to you!" Another elderly voice spoke up.

"My best friend is dead too!"

"Mine too!"

"Wave your fists in the air angrily!"

"Yeah, keep shouting!"

"Seriously Ruff, Tuff, not helping."

The silence vanished like a ghost, and it was replaced by loud shouting from everyone in the hall. People waved their fists in the air, demanding answers. Answers to why they faced Krizzen when they were so unprepared. Answers to why Hiccup's planning had gone haywire from the very beginning. Answers to how they had lost so quickly. Answers to why all the shouting was so fun- the last one was just the Thorston twins, on second thought. People were demanding answers to difficult questions, and Hiccup was at a loss. There wasn't really an easy way to answer these questions, because he knew he was the one who led them in. He looked at Astrid pleadingly, asking for help. She looked back at him with a knowing look in her eyes.

"Seriously, how am I supposed to deal with this?" He asked her quietly.

"I don't know, but you always find a way," she replied. "I don't know how you do it, but somehow you always find the right thing to say. Just go for it, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Alright," Hiccup said, releasing a heavy sigh. "Thor help me."

"Guys, please, calm down," Hiccup began as he turned back to face the crowd, but he was unheard over all the shouting. "Toothless, could you…?" The Night Fury obliged, letting out a loud roar that silenced the hall. "Thank you bud. Now," he began nervously, clearing his throat. "I-I know that battle wasn't optimal. I know that… uh… that we lost a lot of people, and I know that-that is because I screwed up. As your chief I-I really shouldn't be making rash decisions like this. This is all-this is all my fault." Hiccup looked down at the table. Despair was beginning to creep into his body again at the knowledge that he was the cause of this. He felt the tears coming, but he refused to let them fall, knowing that admitting defeat in front of his people wouldn't do any good and would probably make them feel even worse. Not only would they have their morales dampened by the loss of their loved ones, they would also witness their chief crying, and honestly how could anyone expect them to feel better? Life was great for twenty years even though the dragons were gone; why did Krizzen have to ruin everything? _Why did Krizzen have to come here and inflict losses on us Berkians? Why did Krizzen have to crush everyone's spirits? Why couldn't they enjoy life after finally achieving peace with the dragons!? Did they have to always live in a state of war!?_

BANG! Hiccup slammed his fist on the table with all his strength. Any soft murmurs stopped and the Berkians looked up in surprise at him. He was still standing up and leaning forward over the table, his right palm holding his body up and his right arm bent at an angle, while his left arm and fist lay on the table. His auburn hair faced the crowd, and his face was close to the table and facing downwards such that no one could see his face. Everyone gave him curious looks; even the council members at the table turned their heads to look at him with worried eyes. Hiccup was breathing heavily as though he was trying to calm himself down.

"But, we won't give up," he spoke in a deep, throaty voice that sounded more like a growl. No one had heard him speak like this before, and it was slightly unsettling. His face kept facing the table, and no one could see it yet. "We will _never_ give up. I don't know about you all, but I am sick and tired of having to fight wars. I'm so sick-" BANG! "-and tired-" BANG! "-of fighting-" BANG! "-and fighting-" BANG! "-and fighting-" BANG! "-without ever getting peace." His speech was punctuated with the sound of Hiccup slamming his left fist on the table over and over again. Anger and frustration was clearly evident in his tone. "And I don't know about you all, but I can't live in peace knowing that Krizzen is out there using the dragons to conquer the world, that Krizzen still lives after all he did to us. No one, _no one_, can do this to us and get away with it. _No. One_. We are Berk, and we will _fight _to avenge our fellow Berkians." At this point, Hiccup looked up. Tears were flowing down his cheeks, but they weren't tears of despair, but tears of anger and vindication. His mouth was curled downwards and his eyebrows were sloping downwards, creating a menacing scowl on his face. He bared his teeth slightly as well. His typically warm forest green eyes had faded, and were replaced by a cold, rage-filled glare.

But despite his threatening appearance, there was an obvious look of determination on his face. Determination to bring back the dragons. Determination to put an end to Krizzen. Determination to set things right. "We're going to avenge our friends and family, and bring back the dragons. We're going to set things right, and make Krizzen cower in fear of us. When we're done, he's going to be begging us for mercy.

"We. Are. Berk. We've fought wars ever since we were founded. We fought a 300 year war with the dragons, and who won?"

Silence filled the hall, and it was finally broken by Fishlegs. "We did…" he said in a timid voice.

"That's right," Hiccup continued, sparing a grateful glance at his friend. "We won that war. We fought against the Berserkers too, and who won?"

"We did…" A few voices rang out from the crowd.

"That's right, we did. We fought against Viggo and his dragon hunting team, and who won?"

"We did," More voices rang out with more confidence.

"That's right, we did. We fought against Drago, and who won?"

"WE DID!" The entire hall cheered in unison, punching their fists in the air.

"That's right, we did. We also fought Grimmel, and who won?"

"WE DID!"

"That's right. And now, up against Krizzen. Who would win this war?"

"WE WILL!"

"That's right, we _will_ win this war. We will beat Krizzen, and restore our peace. TO BERK!"

"TO BERK!" The hall erupted into raucous cheering and applause. Hiccup waited a while for the cheering to die down, and that took quite a while. Eventually though, he continued. "Pack your bags, we leave tomorrow."

The hall cheered again. Everyone wore joyous and determined faces. They were all eager to set off again although they just returned, because they wanted to do this for Berk. For their loved ones. And for the dragons. Everyone set off from the hall purposefully to make preparations for the next battle. The faces of determination were still visible as they all left the hall. Everyone had the same look, all except for one.

Astrid.

She looked over to her husband, who was facing the crowd and had his side turned towards her. He was using both his arms to hold his body as he leaned forward on the table. But that wasn't her worry. He still had the menacing look in his face and the threatening gaze in his eyes. In all their years together, she had never seen him like this. Not even after a loss to Viggo. This wasn't like him at all. And in this state, who knows what he would do. He might make rash decisions that would cause them to fall, or maybe even get himself killed. All she knew was that she needed to have a word with him.

XX

As the people began to stream out of the Great Hall, Hiccup turned to look at his wife, expecting her to have a look of approval. After all, she did say that somehow he would find the right things to say, and he did. He managed to rally the people to fight Krizzen, and he was certain that they wouldn't be foiled this time.

Instead, she was giving him a look of disappointment and worry. Hiccup scooted over to her and cupped her hand in his. "What's wrong, milady?"

Astrid gave a little sigh. "That didn't seem like you."

Hiccup's face scrunched in confusion. "What do you mean, 'that didn't seem like me'? You said I would somehow find the right thing to say, and I did."

"Yeah but, you were… different. That wasn't the leader that led us against Viggo and Drago and Grimmel. That looked like his alter ego or something. I've never seen you this… scary."

"Astrid, he killed our people. He took our dragons. He destroyed our peace. Peace that we had for twenty years. He needs to pay."

"Is this just about vengeance?" Astrid asked, taking Hiccup aback. "Don't you think you're rushing this? Have you considered how we lost so badly? How we lost in a mere _fifteen minutes_? How they seemed to know everything? Shouldn't we at least figure out how we lost-" Astrid was distracted by the fact that Hiccup began to stare blankly at the door. "Are you listening to what I'm saying!?" Astrid asked indignantly.

"Wait hold on Astrid, say that again," Hiccup said, continuing to look at the door.

"Say what?" Astrid replied. "How we lost so quickly? How we lost in fifteen minutes? How they knew everything? How-"

"That's exactly it," Hiccup interrupted, a light bulb suddenly lighting up in his head.

"Well, what is it? I can't tell from the way you're staring at the door."

"We have a traitor in our midst."

Astrid was shocked. "A traitor?"

"Yes," Hiccup said. "I gave Shineterror a piece of paper to bring to the Founders Tribe, asking them for their help and the exact location of the Hidden World since they were the closest and they could reach there in time. And Krizzen said that he knew the exact location, and I told him the location indirectly. Which means…"

"...someone in the Founders Tribe is feeding him information." Astrid finished. Hiccup nodded. They sat in silence for a while, processing what Hiccup just realised.

Suddenly, Astrid let out a gasp. Hiccup's head snapped to her, worry etched in his eyes. "I think I know who it is," Astrid said. "When I was searching for you in the forest, Viggo met someone by the cliff side where you landed. Gobber fought the other person while I took on Viggo. Gobber was slain by him though, and he said the word 'traitor' before he passed on. That guy had a scar on his left cheek, and besides Viggo, we only know one other guy who has that…"

"...and we met him in the Founders Tribe," Hiccup finished. Looking at each other, they said in unison.

"Rallen!"

Silence fell between them as they processed this. Hiccup had trusted him, but he had turned out to be a traitor. Astrid trusted him too, but now that she thought about it, she had every right to be suspicious of him. He was apparently the first one to wake up on that night when everyone fell unconscious in the Grand Hall, and he was the one who insisted that Hiccup didn't stand a chance against the wolves. And Hiccup did tell her that he saw Zephyr's letter to the Founders Tribe, and who else did she pass it to when she first reached the Founders Tribe with that letter.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Hiccup suddenly asked, but in a kind manner, not in an accusatory manner.

"Gobber said you were alive, and I guess I was too focused on that… I'm sorry babe, it really hurt a lot when you were missing."

Hiccup moved even closer to her such that his chest was resting against her shoulder. He placed a hand around her back, and leaned in close to her, and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "It's okay, I can't even imagine how tough it must've been."

Astrid melted into the warm embrace of her loving husband. She turned to face him and placed a hand on his cheek. Looking into his kind emerald green eyes, she could see how much he loved her. Before they knew it, they were sharing a passionate kiss. Their lips locked, and their tongues were slowly caressing each other's lips, and they began to explore each other's mouths…

"Ugh, get a room!" Snotlout's voice broke them out of their passionate kiss, and they glared at him. "Seriously, stop making out in the Great Hall. We eat here!"

"Oh, and I'm sure you haven't made out with Minden right in that corner over there every meal time?" Hiccup retorted, pointing to the furthest corner where their group of dragon riders used to sit when they first came to New Berk and when they were all still single… except for Hiccup and Astrid of course.

Snotlout blushed. "Shut up doofus." He turned away in embarrassment, much to the delight of Astrid and Hiccup. They were roaring in laughter.

When their laughter died down, Hiccup turned to Astrid again. "I guess I have to put tomorrow on hold."

"Yeah," Astrid replied. "Tomorrow can wait. I think we can make a better plan now that we know Rallen's on their side."

"Actually," Hiccup said. "I have thought of something…"

XX

The night sky cast an ominous darkness over the land. Clouds hid the moon and the stars, and barely any natural light reached the surface of the earth. The only light visible in the area came from lit torches that were hung up on poles. Among the darkness, a few guards were patrolling the area. Their padded boots made little sound on the rocky floor. The flickering flames on the torches cast dancing shadows on the rocky floor, further adding to the ominous nature of the area.

Unbeknownst to them, a dark figure was zooming far over them noiselessly. The darkness of the night helped to conceal them from the enemy's vision, and they were able to take a good look at the area and swoop in behind the first layer of patrols easily. After all, they weren't called Night Furies for no reason.

The dragon landed noiselessly on north side of the island. Unlike the rest of the island, there was soil at this place. However, the rocky ground directly beside the tall mountain that loomed large in the middle of the island didn't have any trees, and that's where the dragon found his footing. The area they landed at was quite a concealed place, and it had only taken a short while to find it. By their left was a tall cliff that had a concave face, with a small rocky overhang above them. Around them on all sides except directly ahead were trees. Although there were relatively wide gaps between the trees, there were shrubs and bushes that helped to conceal anyone that lay low. Directly ahead of them, there was a small path that had been created by someone bashing through the vegetation, but apparently he or she had decided there was nothing interesting and so the path ended abruptly just in front of the cliff. The floor by the cliff was littered with medium-sized boulders and rocks that could easily hide a Night Fury behind them.

Hiccup jumped off Toothless. He was clad in the clothes that Viggo gave him to escape the island, even the fur boots. He had placed extra padding inside the right boot so that it would match the height of the left boot and prosthetic, which made him much taller than normal. "Stay low bud, hide yourself," he said to Toothless. He took in a breath, and held it for a while before releasing it to calm his nerves. The last time he had set foot on this island was because he was a prisoner, and the memories of this place were flooding his mind and threatening to overwhelm him. He shook his head to clear his mind, and he checked that his sword was still in its sheath. "Okay Hiccup, you can do this," he whispered to himself. "Besides, you have to do this." With that, he set off down the half-made path.

He walked confidently onto the gravel path with his hands behind his back, just as Viggo would do. His hood was pulled low over his face, hiding most of his facial features apart from his auburn beard which was close enough to Viggo's in the dark. As he walked along the path, the two patrolling guards stood at attention as he passed them. "Where are the captured dragons?" Hiccup asked them in his deepest voice possible.

"Don't you know that sir?" One of the guards replied innocently.

Hiccup's lips curled into a snarl, and his head lowered a little. The guard that replied immediately noticed this. "They're that way sir," he immediately corrected himself, pointing towards Hiccup's right - the south side of the island. Hiccup glanced in that direction, and then he turned his head back to face them, all the time hiding his face.

"Try that answer again next time," Hiccup growled at the guard, before he turned on his heel and strode towards the direction the guard pointed to. When the guards were out of earshot, Hiccup released a breath. He knew his acting skills were terrible, but he needed all of them in that moment, and thankfully, he managed to get away without arousing suspicion. He walked towards the dragons, and he immediately recognised this as the place where Shineterror was hidden. _Perfect_, he thought. _I can complete both parts of the plan without travelling too much around the island_. He looked around for Shineterror, and sure enough, he saw the enormous dragon resting peacefully by the side of the mountain. He walked over to the dragon and patted him on the snout. The dragon awoke, and began to sniff Hiccup curiously. He recognised the scent of his rider's clothes, and the scent of the one wearing the clothes were familiar too…

"It's me boy, do you remember me?" Hiccup asked. His voice seemed to strike a chord in the dragon's memory, because his pupils immediately widened and he nudged Hiccup gently with his snout. "Hey, you remember me." Hiccup continued to pat the dragon. "But I'm afraid there's more important things now." He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the dragon. "Could you send this to the Founders Tribe? I know I already asked you to do this the last time, but I really need your help boy." The dragon looked at him curiously. There was the scent of another dragon on him, and there was no scent of blood or death, so he was probably a friend to dragons. Besides, the last time he allowed this man to ride him, he hadn't done anything bad, and he really was in a desperate state last time. Eventually, Shineterror decided that Hiccup could be trusted again, and so he obliged. He grabbed the paper carefully in his mouth, and he took off towards the Founders Tribe.

Hiccup watched as Shineterror took his leave, until he became a mere speck in the sky. "Alright, one down, another to go," he muttered to himself as he continued to walk towards the captured dragons. He couldn't see them yet, but he figured they were probably around the next bend.

As he rounded the bend, he saw them. He saw them all. The dragons were all in dragon-proof cages, some of them even had two or three dragons in a cage. They were being cramped up horribly, and Hiccup clenched his fists at the sight of the poor treatment of the dragons. But he had to keep calm, and pretend that nothing was affecting him. He had to walk straight to his destination as though he were Viggo. Taking a deep breath, he began to walk. Walk straight ahead, and ignore the dragons. Ignore their pitiful cries for help. Ignore their pitiful moans of pain and despair at their poor living conditions. Ignore their moans of hunger and thirst. Ignore them completely, as though their pitiful state wasn't affecting him one bit. This was harder than he initially thought. The guards around him didn't spare him a thought; they were too busy trying to keep the dragons silent and fed, especially those who were too stubborn to eat and would rather slap the fish in their hands back into their faces. Hiccup held back a chuckle at the sight.

He kept walking ahead, trying to find the one dragon that he was searching for. The Berkian dragons seemed to somewhat recognise him, and some of them followed his movements with their eyes as he walked past. But at long last, he found the one dragon he was searching for.

The Skrill.

Unsurprisingly, the Skrill seemed to have some special treatment. His cage was larger than the other ones, and he was given more food and water than the other dragons. His cage was also underneath a small rocky overhang, which provided him with a little bit of shelter. This also meant that the back of the cage was against the mountain, and light couldn't reach that area. Hiccup walked over to the Skrill, hoping that he would recognise him. The Skrill saw Hiccup approaching, and his pupils were dilated. However, as Hiccup grew nearer, his eyes narrowed into slits and he snarled at him. "Easy boy," Hiccup soothed. "I'm a friend. Do you remember me?" Hiccup stretched an open palm towards the Skrill. The Skrill sniffed Hiccup's palm, and there was some hesitation. He seemed to recognise his scent, but couldn't quite remember. Hiccup noticed this, and he continued. "We're the ones that freed you from the ice cavern, remember?" At the mention of this, the Skrill's pupils dilated and widened, and he leaned into Hiccup's open palm. "That's it, you remember me," Hiccup said, stroking the Skrill's about. "I need to hide behind your cage, do you think you can keep me hidden?" The Skrill seemed to understand, and he watched as Hiccup crawled between the cage and the mountain behind the cage. When Hiccup was in place, he moved such that no light fell on him.

Hiccup was left in the darkness, and he couldn't see a single thing as his eyes adjusted to the dark. All he could do was listen for what he wanted to hear. His legs were tucked closely into his chest in order for him to fit in there. Time began to pass, and Hiccup still remained in that position. His legs were cramping in many areas, but besides stretching them out a little there wasn't much room for him to move. Hiccup began to wonder if his plan was going to work at all. Would he ever hear what he wanted to hear?

Just as he was on the verge of giving up, footsteps were heard. The footsteps grew louder, and stopped directly in front of the Skrill's cage.

"Shocker, how are you?" A monotonous voice asked.

"I'm fine, but my legs are somewhat cramped," a reply sounded from behind the cage. Hiccup began to crawl out painfully, the cramps in his leg going into overdrive because of the new movements. As he crawled, he spoke. "I've wanted to speak to you…" He crawled out of the space and stood up to dust himself off. "Viggo."

Viggo looked back at Hiccup, the same stone cold and unreadable expression on his face. The twins had remarked at some point that Viggo looked the same happy, sad, or all the time in fact. Judging from his sudden appearance though, Hiccup guessed that he was feeling shocked.

"I'm shocked, Hiccup," Viggo said, confirming his needless suppositions. "How did you know I was here?"

"Well, I guessed that the Skrill was captured along with the dragons at the Hidden World, and chances are you would be meeting the Skrill every night, so I waited."

"I see," Viggo said in his same monotonous voice, placing a hand on his chin. "Why have you come?"

"I need information, Viggo," Hiccup explained. "Information such as why the Rebels are being so obedient to Krizzen, and where he keeps Mjolnir."

Viggo continued scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Crawl back behind so no one sees you," he said. Hiccup obliged, despite the fact that his cramps were still healing. "The Rebels obey Krizzen not because they respect him, but rather they're forced to," Viggo explained. "He keeps their mates in large cages in the crater of the volcano. You do know that this mountain is one large dormant volcano?"

"I... did not know that," Hiccup admitted.

"Well that's besides the point. He keeps their mates there, and hurts them every time they disobey his commands. Dragons only have one mate for life, so they'll do anything to keep them unharmed."

Hiccup was shocked at this news. He knew how brutal Krizzen was - he experienced it firsthand in fact - but he didn't know that he extended this brutality to the dragons as well. He stayed silent for a while as he processed this information.

After a while, he asked Viggo again. "Where does he keep Mjolnir?"

"It's in his office," Viggo explained. "It's locked in a metal trunk behind his desk. Only he has the key to that trunk."

Hiccup thought for a moment. "Have you tried to pick the lock?"

Viggo chuckled. "Hiccup, I've always told you that I'm a businessman, and so I don't go around doing these things. Therefore, I have no knowledge on how to do it. Maybe you can try."

"Alright then, that's all I need to know," Hiccup said as he began crawling out of the cramped space. "Oh by the way, if a guy named Rallen comes around delivering a letter, don't worry about it. It's part of my plan."

Viggo looked shocked, well, as shocked as a stone-faced Viggo could look. "I didn't know you had dealings with the Founders Tribe."

"Yeah, we do, or rather we did. I'm pretty sure that Rallen is working for Krizzen, but I'm not sure about the rest. Either way, I'm not going to contact anyone but Rallen. Did you know Rallen was working for Krizzen?"

"I'm afraid so," Viggo said. "My sincere apologies, I didn't know you knew the Founders."

Hiccup shrugged. "It's okay. Anyway, if he comes here, let him deliver the letter to Krizzen. I've planned it."

"And what is your plan?" Viggo asked.

"It's uh… it's coming together," Hiccup said nervously.

Viggo gave him a questioning look, but finally succumbed. "Well then, Hiccup, all the best."

"You too, Viggo." Hiccup began to walk back the way he came, towards Toothless. He sauntered past the clueless guards who were still trying to control the enraged dragons. He had to look away to prevent himself from rashly attacking the guards and freeing the dragons. That wouldn't have a good ending. After all, he was outnumbered greatly, and if Krizzen knew that Hiccup was on this island, it wouldn't help his case at all.

After a while, Hiccup managed to find his way back to his dragon. The Night Fury was busying himself with nothing in particular; he was hiding behind a large pile of rocks and watching a group of ants crawl across the floor where he was laying.

"Hey bud," Hiccup said. Toothless looked over to him; the sharp green eyes piercing through the night. "Let's go." Toothless lowered his head and allowed Hiccup to climb on, and without a sound, they shot off into the night sky, becoming nothing more than a speck in the dark. No one would be able to spot them when they were this high.

Except for a pair of black eyes that wanted to find out why Viggo passed him twice dressed in different clothes.

**A/N: I know Hiccup is very OOC here, but I wanted to make his speech more rallying than motivating. This was the only way I could do so convincingly. I hope you guys are prepared for the next chapter, because we're going straight back into the heat of battle!**

**Next chapter is pre-uploaded, but the two chapters next weekend are not. I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Rico: Eaten? Obliterated? Hmm, let's see what will happen to him… **


	17. Chapter 17: The Final Showdown, Prelude

Chapter 17: The Final Showdown, Prelude

Shineterror landed on the rocky ground with barely a sound. After all, he was accustomed to landing stealthily, since most of his missions required secrecy. His last mission puzzled him, though. It wasn't handed down by that eastern-looking man, or the one who had a weird looking black beard and a stone face. Rather, it was that auburn-hair man that had so desperately pleaded for his help. He smelled his usual rider's scent on him, and he was dressed exactly like him, so that must've meant that he trusted him. And honestly, besides his usual rider, he was the only one who seemed remotely concerned for his well-being; the other ones on this island just didn't care at all. They would fly him to exhaustion, and when he wanted to rest, they would just threaten to hurt his mate.

The auburn guy was different though. He had sensed that Shineterror was tiring, and he asked if he wanted a break. But remembering his pitiful state when Shineterror picked him up, he refused to rest and instead flew him straight to the Founders Tribe, where he witnessed the auburn man reunite with his mate. It reminded him of why he kept doing what he was doing, and he recalled that his usual rider promised to free his mate, and the mates of all his friends as well. But he needed time, and so Shineterror persevered through all these years, but as the years passed, he became less optimistic.

Seeing someone else be so kind to dragons renewed his hope that his mate would be free one day.

So when that auburn-hair man appeared again asking him to deliver a letter, he didn't hesitate. He trusted him, and maybe one day that trust will pay off, he won't know for sure. But until then, he'll keep doing what he was doing.

In comparison though, the person that was riding on him at the moment was not someone that he liked at all. He would always berate the dragon for being too slow although he was going as fast as he could. It was a great relief to him when that person finally hopped off him onto the rocky ground. The man's fur boots made loud noises as he walked quickly across the stone floor and onto the gravel path. The guards at the wooden door that separated the cave system from the outdoors quickly opened the door as he walked past them. He strode quickly, each step purposeful as he made his way towards Krizzen's office. When he reached there, he rapped sharply on the door, and opened it without waiting for an answer.

"Seriously Rallen, how many times do I have to tell you to wait for a reply before opening the door every time?" Krizzen chided. He had both his feet on his table, and he was leaning back in his chair to the point that the chair was threatening to tip over backwards.

"And how many times have I told you I don't care, Krizzen?" Rallen replied.

Krizzen let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh well, do what you want, at least you're of some use. What do you want?"

"It's not about what I want," Rallen began. "But rather what do you want?"

"Oh there's a whole list of things I want," Krizzen said quickly. "I want yak ribs, honey-filled mead, and maybe a side of lamb chops. But there's one thing I want more than anything. That _blasted_ alpha dragon. Controlling these guys with Mjolnir only is a pain. With the alpha dragon on my side, how much more can we do?"

Rallen smiled. "That's exactly why I'm here."

Krizzen placed his feet on the ground and leaned forward on the table intently. "What news do you have?"

"Berk's coming."

"Took them long enough."

"Here, take a look for yourself." Rallen slammed a piece of paper on the table. Krizzen took it in his hands and began to read.

_To the Founders Tribe,_

_Greetings. As you might know, Krizzen has won the battle at the Hidden World, and he has the dragons. As conclusive as this may sound, he has the upper hand, and he might have won the battle already. _

_But we are Berk. We have made a promise to defend the dragons until it is safe for them to return, and it is definitely not safe now. As such, we have decided to launch an attack on Krizzen's island in a week's time. We seek your assistance in aiding this attack to free the dragons back to their home. _

_We will be sending fleets to attack from the north, as it is the most secluded area. Trees and vegetation will make it difficult for sentries to be perched on that side, and we intend to use this to our advantage. We still have a few dragons as well, but we will leave them on Berk since Krizzen has Mjolnir, a weapon that can control the dragons. _

_We hope you can meet us along the way to the island. Enclosed is a map to that island. We will do our very best to free the dragons, and we hope that you will join us in our quest. _

_Yours truly,_

_Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Chief of Berk_

Krizzen smiled as he read this. When he finished, he placed the letter on the table and began to chuckle.

"He makes it too obvious," he said in a sinister tone.

"What do you mean?" Rallen asked.

But Krizzen didn't respond. Instead, he kept sitting there, drumming his fingers against each other, deep in thought. Finally, he spoke to Rallen. "Would you like to stay here? I don't think you're needed any more on the Founders Tribe."

"Gladly," Rallen responded. "I can't take Kari and her diplomacy any more."

"Great," Krizzen said. "The stage is set. The battle begins.

"Do your worst, Hiccup."

XX

"To cap it off, our army will charge in over here," Hiccup said, pointing to a cross on a map of Krizzen's island. "Then the others will swoop in from here on their dragons," he pointed to another part of the map, "and we corner Krizzen's forces and capture him."

The people gathered in the hall listened intently to his plan. The usual dragon riders were there - Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff, and Heather - and other people who he had specifically chosen to lead from the ground - Valka, Eret, Zephyr, Nuffink, Smitelout, and the A team. Berk's allies were there as well. The dragon riders had flown to Berserker Island and Outcast Island and pulled their armada back to New Berk. Dagur and Mala would lead the Berserkers, and Alvin would lead the Outcasts.

The ships were fully stocked with weapons and supplies, and every person had their weapons and armour repaired at the forge within the last week. The ships were reinforced with dragon-proof material in case Krizzen decided to use the dragons against them. The briefing was held in the night, and they planned to leave immediately when dusk fell. They were ready to take Krizzen on, and no one could say anything to change their mind. They knew deep down that no matter what was thrown at them, they would face it head on, and keep fighting on regardless. After all, they were Vikings; it was an occupational hazard.

The gathered people, or the leaders of the battle as Hiccup kept calling them, began to stream out of the hall to make any final preparations and to brief their respective men if needed. Hiccup stayed and watched as they all began to leave one by one; some of them congratulating Hiccup on a job well done on their way out.

Eventually, the only ones left in the hall were the chief and chieftess. Astrid reached out and held her husband's hand, their hands clasping each other subconsciously. "Well done babe," she said, planting a kiss on Hiccup's cheek.

"Thanks Astrid," Hiccup replied, a small smile flashing across his face, but the ends of his mouth didn't really reach his ears.

Astrid sensed something was off. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Hiccup replied. "I can't shake off this feeling that something's going to go wrong. I mean, he's beaten me every time. When I tried to escape, he anticipated it and placed more guards. When we fought him at the Hidden World, he managed to win so fast. I just-I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this. I don't want more people to die."

Astrid felt her heart melt for her husband. She moved to stand in front of him and placed her other hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup, don't worry. He had the upper hand in both those times because he knew information he shouldn't, and this time, you're using that against him. He doesn't know about the Light Fury and the Night Lights too, and doesn't your plan use that against him?"

"True… but… I still have a bad feeling," Hiccup admitted. "What if he sees through it?"

"It'll be fine, Hiccup," Astrid assured. "I trust you, now you have to trust yourself. We've done many amazing things before, and this would probably be one of them. Besides, if anything goes wrong, you can do what you're best at."

"And what's that?"

"Improvising."

Hiccup stayed silent in thought for a moment. "Alright then," he said, raising his arms and giving an exasperated sigh. "I guess we have to hope that everything goes well."

Astrid smiled comfortingly at her husband. "It will, trust me. I believe in you."

"I feel like the 15-year-old scrawny teen that stood on the edge of the docks watching Berk leave for the nest right now," Hiccup admitted.

"But this time, you have a plan," Astrid reassured him.

Hiccup smiled at Astrid's words.

"Well then, to Krizzen we go!"


	18. Chapter 18: The Final Showdown, Part 1

Chapter 18: The Final Showdown, Part 1

The keel of the ships tore through the choppy waters, sending waves towards the left and right sides of the ship. The loud sounds of water sloshing as the waves struck the other ships around was distinctly audible due to the tense silence on the ships. The armada sailed on in the bright morning sun, gradually growing closer and closer to their destination. In fact, their destination was in sight already, and they were about thirty minutes out. The large island protruded obscenely from the sea. Its gigantic cliffs formed over time from the waves eroding away at the landmass stood loomingly over the armada. Each ship had two masts, one in the centre and one at the back. The additional space in the front was reserved for additional catapults. After all, they were performing a frontal assault on Krizzen's island. Just as Hiccup's letter had said, they were attacking from the north, and as expected, the raised northern coastline was lined with catapults. In just another two minutes they would be in range of the enemy catapults, but they wouldn't be able to fire back yet due to the fact that they were on lower ground.

On the leading vessel, Dagur stood at the bow of the ship, watching Krizzen's forces that were perched by the catapults. Behind him was the Berserker, Outcast, and Berkian fleet. He watched them intently, a deranged smile forming on his face. "Get ready…" he called to the men, his voice trailing off, leaving them anticipating the next command. "These idiots wouldn't expect this coming," he muttered to himself as he let out a wild chuckle. The fleet began to draw nearer and nearer, almost entering the range of the enemy catapults. Anticipation began to grow in all the men. Anxiety levels were at a maximum.

Suddenly, with a wild chuckle, Dagur hollered at the top of his lungs. "GO!" Upon his command, the men on his ship immediately grabbed all the sides of a hatch, and moved it out of the way as fast as they could. Before the hatch door was fully opened however, six blurry creatures shot out of the hatch and took to the skies. The six creatures regrouped and hovered in the sky, revealing themselves to Krizzen's army. They immediately noticed that they were the six dragons that Krizzen left behind, thinking that they weren't going to be a threat. Taking up the rear were Ruff and Tuff riding on Barf and Belch, and Fishlegs and Meatlug. Heather and Windshear, and Snotlout and Hookfang were in the second row. Lastly, right in front were Toothless and Stormfly. But the two leading dragons didn't have their usual riders; not that Krizzen's army knew that. Valka rode on Stormfly, while Eret rode on Toothless.

The six dragon riders defended the advancing fleet bravely. Stormfly, Hookfang, and Windshear fired at any boulders that threatened to harm the ships, destroying them and causing small harmless pebbles to rain down on the ships. A few managed to pass through them and crashed into the deck of the ships, but no one was hurt from this. Meatlug, being the rock-loving dragon she was, began to eat the boulders that flew at her. "Good girl," Fishlegs crooned, patting his dragon on her head.

Barf and Belch and Toothless advanced swiftly onto the catapults, dodging boulders fired directly at them with great ease. Toothless began to shoot plasma blasts at the catapults, destroying them and sending the men running away as fast as their legs could take them. "Nice one, mate," Eret said. Toothless warbled back in reply.

Barf and Belch, led by the ever-so-destructive Ruff and Tuff did what they did best. Barf released a cloud of green gas along the entire line of catapults, sending the men into coughing fits.

"I can't believe Hiccup actually told us to blow stuff up!" Ruff said excitedly.

"Yeah, he doesn't say this much," Tuff agreed.

"Well? What say you we make the biggest explosion for the last twenty years?" Ruff encouraged.

"You got it, sis. Belch, light it up!" Upon command, Belch released a spark from his mouth, igniting the green gas and causing a large explosion that tore through the line of catapults.

XX

As the battle raged on at the north side of the island, a pair of footsteps approached the wooden door to Krizzen's intricate cave system hastily. The guards stood at attention as the hooded man approached them, but he waved them off with an urgent sweep of his right hand.

"What are you doing!?" He demanded.

"We're… guarding the door, sir," one guard responded uncertainly.

"As the other soldiers fight at the north?"

"We… we weren't told to go and help them…"

"So you just stay here? Use your brains! Go and help them. Quickly!"

The two guards took off towards the north as fast as they could, their loud footsteps audible as they sprinted along the gravel path. Viggo watched as they ran away, and eventually disappeared from his sight. He looked around him briefly, trying to spot anyone that may be lingering in the area. Finally, determining that the coast is clear, he stretched out his hand and dropped his sword onto the ground.

On cue, four dragons descended rapidly and landed on the gravel ground noiselessly. The Light Fury and the three Night Lights landed, carrying a few riders with them. The Light Fury - who Astrid had named Stardust - carried Hiccup and Astrid. Toothless managed to convince her to allow humans to ride on her, and while she was way at first, she eventually relented. Smitelout rode on the black green-eyed Night Light - whom he had named Thunder, Zephyr rode on the white Night Light whom she named Dusk, and Nuffink rode on the other Night Light whom he named Bolt. Hiccup and Astrid were clad in their dragon-scale armour and helmet, while the younger generation adorned metallic armour. Smitelout wore a dark red chestplate and a spiked helmet; Zephyr wore spiked shoulder guards just like her Mother, and Nuffink wore a dark green chestplate.

"Thanks Viggo," Hiccup said as he and the other riders dismounted. "Astrid, Smitelout, go to the north and cut the retreating soldiers off. Take Stardust and Thunder with you." Astrid and Smitelout gave a curt nod before rushing off to the north with the dragons in tow. "Kids, you two stay here and get Mjolnir from Krizzen, and then direct him southwards. I didn't see any guards left there. Find a place to hide." Zephyr and Nuffink nodded, and they took to the skies to search for a good hiding spot. Hiccup turned back to face Viggo.

"Let's go."

Viggo nodded, and then he turned around to face the wooden door. He pushed it open, and led the way into the caves. The smell of musty, stale, and smoky air greeted their noses. Torches burned eerily along the walls of the caves, and Hiccup shuddered at the sight. Memories of what happened the last time he was here threatened to surface, but he pushed them down with a shake of his head. He kept following Viggo down the dimly lit tunnels. The sound of his prosthetic echoed faintly around the cave system despite his best efforts to soundproof the bottom of the prosthetic.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Viggo came to a halt in front of a sharp bend. He raised a hand over his shoulder with his palm open, indicating to Hiccup to stop. Hiccup complied, stopping behind him. Viggo turned around and reached into his belt. He pulled out a set of keys that jangled when he moved them up.

"These are the keys for the cages the mates of the Rebels are being held in," Viggo explained. He passed the keys into Hiccup's outstretched hand. "I hope your plan works, Hiccup," Viggo said, meeting his confident look with his own look of trust. Hiccup gave him a determined nod, and headed around the bend towards the area where the mates of the Rebels were being held.

Hiccup walked forward warily, staying alert all the time. He clutched the keys tightly in his right hand; his left hand ready to draw his sword if needed. He headed towards the end of the tunnel where there was a relatively circular opening. He walked through the opening, and into the centre of the volcano. Being dormant, the centre of the volcano did not have any magma. Rather, it was a large, rocky, flat area that converged into a slightly smaller hole at the top, where magma had previously shot out of the volcano when it was active. The whole circular area could probably fit the entirety of Berk's population and its allies with room to spare. Sunlight streamed in from the top, illuminating most of the rocky floor but still left some places relatively dark. In these darker areas was where Hiccup found what he was searching for. Eight extremely large dragon-proof cages sat in the darker areas, and inside it were eight dragons that had lighter grey scales than their male counterparts. The cages were locked with dragon-proof locks too.

Hiccup ran over to the cages, and immediately began to fumble with the locks. The clanging of the lock against the bars of the cage echoed around the large hollow area. The first mate growled at him as he approached, but his usual smooth talk with dragons managed to calm her down. "Easy girl, I'm not gonna hurt you," Hiccup whispered soothingly as he continued to find the right key for the lock. The dragon moved back her head and looked at him curiously. He was the first human to speak to her in such a nice tone, and didn't try to hurt her when she threatened them. Perhaps he could be trusted?

Hiccup kept trying key after key, and although it only took a few seconds it felt like hours. Eventually, he found the right key, and he moved to slot it in-

"Doing something, Hiccup?"

Hiccup spun around and grabbed his sword instinctively. Pressing a button, he lighted Inferno as he faced the direction where the voice came from. Although he only heard that voice on one day, he recognised that voice, and it belonged to none other than…

"Rallen…" Hiccup said, a tone of disgust seeping into his voice.

Rallen stood in a little room inside the wall. Dragon-proof bars separated him from the large chamber where Hiccup stood. He stood there with an evil grin on his face, which was quite uncharacteristic of him given his emotionless face when they met on the shores of the Founders Tribe.

"Welcome!" Rallen taunted, stretching his arms out wide. "I'm glad you could make it, just as your letter had said."

Hiccup smiled a little, but his helmet hid his smile from Rallen's sight. "I'm glad you read my letter," Hiccup said sarcastically.

"Me too," Rallen said. "But doesn't something seem a little… off to you, Hiccup?"

Hiccup looked confused for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Rallen continued, placing a hand on his chin for effect. "If I remember correctly, your letter didn't mention that you were coming here. So that begs the question, why am I here? Weren't you supposed to throw me off with your letter?"

Hiccup was taken aback for a moment. What he said was true. _How did Rallen know he was coming here? All he mentioned was that their ships would attack from the north. Wait… how did he know the letter was to throw them off? _

Guessing that Hiccup paused because he was shocked, Rallen chuckled. "As you see, Krizzen and I have read that letter very, _very_ thoroughly." Hiccup remained silent, indicating that he should continue. "You see, Krizzen noted that you had never been to the north of this island when you were held captive here. So how did you know that that place was secluded? Also, Krizzen may or may not have seen multiple Viggo's walking around this island a few days ago. Naturally, Viggo would have told you about this place, so here we are, Hiccup."

Hiccup's shock turned into frustration. How was Krizzen so good at reading into the details? This was never supposed to happen. The letter was meant to throw them off, but instead all it did was give them ample time to plan a counter. Wait… how is Viggo doing? If Krizzen knew about this, then wouldn't he know that Viggo was betraying them?

Before Hiccup could dwell on that thought, Rallen interrupted him. "You better get ready to fight for your life, Hiccup."

Hiccup diverted his attention back to Rallen, the lit Inferno still held in his left hand. "How are you going to fight, Rallen? I have a fiery sword, and you're on the other side of the bars. Are you staying there because you're scared of fighting me?" Hiccup asked sarcastically.

Rallen chuckled darkly. "These bars aren't here to keep me in, it's to keep them out." As he said this, he placed two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Immediately, loud roaring filled the entirety of the large chamber. The roars came from the hole in the top and bounced off the rocky surfaces.

Hiccup looked up. Eight enormous dragons flew through the hole in the top of the volcano and descended towards the bottom of the chamber.

_The Rebels. _

"Rebels!" Rallen commanded, drawing the attention of the gigantic dragons towards him. He pulled a lever, and eight harpoons appeared from the wall. Each harpoon was aimed at one of the Rebel's mates, and the Rebels eyed the harpoons angrily. "If you want your mates to remain unharmed…" He pointed at Hiccup, an evil smile stretching across his face.

"Kill him!"


	19. Chapter 19: The Final Showdown, Part 2

Chapter 19: The Final Showdown, Part 2

Viggo walked along the rocky tunnels towards his destination. He had managed to fulfil the first part of Hiccup's plan - bringing him to the place where the mates of the Rebels were being held. Now he had to do the second part - lure Krizzen out of the caves, with Mjolnir in his hand. Once he exits the tunnels through the wooden door, Hiccup's kids would pounce on him straight away, taking Mjolnir from him. After that, well, he didn't really have too much of a part to play, so he didn't concern himself with it. He never expected that he would be following a plan created by someone who was his arch enemy, and a very fun enemy he had to admit, but the plan was very good.

He kept walking down the tunnels until he reached where Hiccup had told him to go. The door that separated the tunnels from Krizzen's small office lay right ahead of him. He knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for a response.

Krizzen was lounging back on his chair with both his feet on the table and his hands interlocked on his stomach. He was almost lying flat, his chair tilting backwards dangerously. He seemed to have been in that position for a while, judging from the relaxed state he was in. His keen eyes seemed to have been watching the door long before Viggo opened it.

"Hey, what's up?" Krizzen asked, a little too casually given the fact that he knew Berk was attacking at this very moment.

Viggo shook off the shock of seeing Krizzen like this quickly. "They have dragons," Viggo said curtly.

"Is that so?" Krizzen asked sarcastically, moving his hands behind his head.

"See for yourself then," Viggo responded. He turned to leave-

"Stop," Krizzen said as he proceeded to stand up. He stretched and yawned loudly, all the while making a big deal out of it. "I'll get Mjolnir and go."

Viggo watched as Krizzen squatted down to unlock the chest that held Mjolnir, and drew out the weapon that caused so much death to Berk. He held the horn triumphantly in his hand for a moment, and he turned and began walking towards the entrance of his office where Viggo stood.

"Let's go," Krizzen said to Viggo. Krizzen stood directly in front of Viggo, a bit too close for comfort, Viggo thought, but Viggo shrugged it off.

"Krizzen," Viggo chuckled. "I am sure you wouldn't want a fifty-something year old man slowing you down." Suddenly, Viggo felt the cold, sharp tip of a dagger poke the front of his stomach. A startled gasp escaped his mouth. He looked down warily. The dagger was concealed in Krizzen's wristbands, and the tip was resting directly against his skin. It hadn't pierced the skin, but it threatened to at any given time.

Krizzen gave an evil grin. His black eyes pierced straight through to Viggo's soul. The typically stoic and brave Viggo felt a chill run down his spine. "I wasn't asking," Krizzen hissed menacingly. "I know all about you and Hiccup. So I'd suggest following everything I say. Turn around and move."

Viggo thought about fighting off Krizzen and making a run for it, but his mind decided that his sixty-year-old body wouldn't be able to outrun and fight off an agile and fast Krizzen. He complied unwillingly, and he began walking back down the tunnels with Krizzen's dagger placed threateningly against his back.

They continued down the tunnels all the way towards the entrance where the wooden door was. The door was closed, and Krizzen stated in no uncertain terms that Viggo was to open it and if he tried to make a break for it, that would be the last thing he ever did. Viggo reached for the door and opened it warily. He proceeded to walk out, but Krizzen jerked him back by his hood. He lost his balance and he fell backwards with a loud thud. Krizzen kicked him in the side, and Viggo curled up on his side instinctively. Acting on this, Krizzen pulled both his hands behind his back and slapped on a pair of cuffs. He rolled Viggo onto his belly roughly, and proceeded to cuff his legs together and he pushed him behind the door, out of sight from those outside the tunnels. Viggo was wincing in pain and breathing heavily. The hard kick to his stomach and the rough treatment from Krizzen had done a number on him, especially for a sixty-year-old man.

Krizzen stood up triumphantly, and headed towards the door. He stood right at the doorway where the gravel path ended and the rocky tunnel floor began. The strong sunlight illuminated the place where he stood, and the musty air was being replaced by the cold air from the surroundings. He held Mjolnir in one hand, and he cupped the other around one side of his mouth, the concealed dagger hidden back in his wrist guards.

"Hiccup! Show yourself! Or whoever you've placed here, show yourself!" He hollered into the open space. He stood at his place for a moment, looking around at all possible hiding places. His keen eyes rolled over every possible place, but he saw nothing. Deciding that it was safe, he took a step out onto the gravel path.

Suddenly, a purple plasma blast struck the ground where he stood. He was thrown off his feet and he flew backwards until his back struck the rocky mountainside and he slumped to the floor. He was still conscious and alert, but pain shot through his body, particularly from his head and back. However, he knew better than to stay on the ground, so he jumped to his feet despite the protests from his body. It took a moment for his vision to stop spinning, and he placed a hand on his head to help stop the spinning. After a few vulnerable seconds, his vision cleared, and he could look around clearly. He clenched both his fists… _wait, where's Mjolnir?_ He scanned the area quickly, and spotted the horn lying on the floor just beside him. He darted to it, and jumped to claim it. He stretched out his hand to pick it up from the floor. But just as he was about to reach it, a blur of black and white colours flashed in front of him, and suddenly Mjolnir vanished from his sight. He quickly stood upright and looked behind him, knowing that was the most likely position he would be attacked.

Just as he expected, two dragons slowly descended onto the ground, carrying two riders. One was a female, and the other was a young lean male that reminded him a lot of Hiccup.

And in the hands of the young teenager was Mjolnir. Krizzen fumed at the sight of his precious horn in the hands of the enemy, but he kept his anger in check.

"You're Hiccup's kids, aren't you?" Krizzen asked, putting two and two together.

"Yeah, we are," Nuffink replied, giving a little smile and a wave. Zephyr kept glaring at Krizzen though, adopting a serious attitude just like Astrid would.

Krizzen looked at the two of them on their dragons, while the two of them looked back at him. There was a tense silence as both parties eyed each other down, deciding what the next course of action was best. Eventually, Krizzen raised both his hands in the air and began backing off slowly. The two Berkians were stunned by this, as they hadn't expected Krizzen to do this.

"Don't hurt me, I'm just retreating, alright?" Krizzen said. He kept walking backwards slowly under the intense scrutiny of the two teens. As the wooden door came past his right however, he suddenly darted into the tunnels. Zephyr was the fastest to react. She urged Dusk forward, who obediently lunged forward towards the door. Nuffink, on Bolt, followed suit. They were just a few meters from the door when Krizzen suddenly reappeared.

But when they saw what he was doing, they all halted immediately.

Krizzen was clutching Viggo by his arms tightly, and he held a dagger by his throat. The sharp edge of the dagger rested precariously against the skin of his neck. Viggo's breathing was noticeably shallow as he tried to avoid being unnecessarily pierced by the dagger.

"Take another step closer and he dies," Krizzen hissed. The two teenagers stayed still, neither of them willing to be the reason why a man's life was ended. They watched as Krizzen dragged Viggo backwards as he himself walked backwards. Viggo was taking a lot of small steps, the cuffs around his ankles preventing him from taking large steps. He kept backing off until there was a large distance between them. The side of the mountain curved towards the left, and Krizzen kept close to the side. Just as he was about to disappear from their sight, he shouted back at the motionless teens. "Tell Hiccup if he wants to see Viggo alive, he'll bring Mjolnir to me." With that, he turned the corner and disappeared from their sight.

Zephyr and Nuffink stayed frozen. What could they do? They could go after Krizzen, but he was quite a psychopath and he could very easily end Viggo's life. After all, he didn't hesitate to torture the chief of Berk for information. They could simply ignore Krizzen too, because they did have Mjolnir… but the caged dragons were south of the island, exactly the direction which Krizzen headed. If they tried to save the dragons, Krizzen would see them and probably kill Viggo too.

XX

Astrid and Smitelout ran towards the north, going as fast as their feet could carry them. Behind them, Stardust and Thunder bounded alongside them. They were spread out in a horizontal line, trying to cover as much ground as possible to ensure that none of Krizzen's troops would be able to get past them as they pushed onto them.

As they ran towards the place where the catapults were stationed, they encountered a few of Krizzen's troops retreating in their direction. Astrid and Smitelout made quick work of them, disarming them and subduing the surprised soldiers quickly. Soon, all the other dragon riders descended on the island. They helped to tie up the remaining soldiers, and made sure that no one could escape. Having done this, Astrid waved at the fleet of Berkians, Berserkers, and Outcasts, signalling to Dagur. Dagur acknowledged the signal with a wave of his own, and proceeded to lead the fleet towards the west where the docks were, just as Hiccup had planned.

Once they tied up the soldiers, Astrid got back onto Stormfly, and Valka rode on Stardust. All the dragon riders flew back towards the entrance to the tunnels where Zephyr and Nuffink were. Astrid led the way, flying speedily on Stormfly. The rest of the dragon riders followed suit.

But when they flew around the corner and the teenagers came into sight, they were completely taken aback to see them rooted to the spot. Astrid was the fastest to react. She flew directly to her kids and dismounted, worry etched on her face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, placing a concerned hand on Zephyr's shoulder while holding Nuffink's hand in her other.

Zephyr seemed stunned that someone had arrived, and she took a split second to compose herself. "We're okay, and we got Mjolnir." Nuffink raised it up to show his mother the horn. "But," Zephyr continued. "Krizzen has Viggo."

"And he's threatening to kill him if Dad doesn't bring Mjolnir to him," Nuffink added.

"How long ago did this happen?" Astrid asked.

"About a minute," Zephyr answered.

"Why did he have Viggo?" Fishlegs asked.

"Maybe Viggo was working for him all along!" Tuffnut exclaimed, slamming his fist into his palm for effect.

"Or maybe Krizzen figured out that Viggo was on our side, dimwits!" Snotlout shouted.

"That could be possible too, dear Snotty," Tuff remarked.

"Or… both Viggo _and_ Hiccup are working for Krizzen!" Ruff said.

Suddenly, Astrid's mind seemed to click. Her eyes widened in shock, and her jaw dropped.

"Hiccup!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, Astrid," Ruff began in an annoyed tone. "I said Hiccup might be-"

"No, no, how's Hiccup?" Astrid clarified. "If Krizzen knows that Viggo is helping us, he would know Hiccup's letter was a ruse."

All the dragon riders paused for a moment. Astrid was right, how was Hiccup doing? Viggo went in with Hiccup, and Viggo came out being held at knifepoint… how about Hiccup? Was he even still alive? These were the thoughts that ran through the minds of all the riders.

Well, most of the riders. "Maybe… Hiccup is the one who gave Viggo away!" Tuff offered.

"Or he's in danger… oh Thor, oh Thor!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"Fishlegs, calm down!" Astrid ordered. She took a moment to think, and then she began barking orders to the team. "Zeph, Nuff, go after Krizzen. Stall him, or do something, just prevent him from killing Viggo until we return with Hiccup. Eret and Smitelout, go with them. The rest, come with me. We're going to get Hiccup."

The team nodded their agreement, before setting off towards their respective directions. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Heather, Valka, and Ruff and Tuff flew into the tunnels on their dragons with a loud whoosh. The two Haddock kids, the Jorgenson, and the son of Eret set off southwards on Dusk, Bolt, Thunder, and Toothless. The four strike class dragons bounded towards the south, their footsteps creating loud thuds every time they came into contact with the ground. Their riders crouched low in their saddles, unwilling to be the first to be thrown off their rushing dragon.

They covered a lot of ground in a short while, but Krizzen was still nowhere to be seen. The only thing visible was the occasional marks in the ground where there were sparse patches of soil. It was quite obvious that Krizzen broke out into a sprint after turning the corner, and the poor Viggo was being dragged along since his legs were cuffed. Frankly, it was surprising that Krizzen could run so far with a bound prisoner.

The three Berkians and their dragons followed the path for a while, desperate to catch up to Krizzen and Viggo. The dragons bounded quickly, causing the wind to blow vigorously against the faces of the riders. Suddenly, Dusk skidded to a stop. "What is it, girl?" Zephyr asked. Her ears were twitching, as though she was picking up on some sound. Zephyr waited patiently, knowing better than to doubt the senses of a dragon. Nuffink and Eret were waiting patiently too. Their dragons were doing the same thing as Dusk, but to a smaller extent. Suddenly, Dusk's head jerked violently to the left, directly towards a small cave in the mountain.

And directly in the middle of the cave was a bound, gagged, and unconscious Viggo. He was lying down against the back of the circular cave with his head upright and legs stretched straight. His head slumped to his right, almost touching his shoulder. There was a large crimson stain on the wall behind his head, and the two teens winced at the sight. They rushed forward to help him. Zephyr landed beside him and dismounted quickly. She moved his head forward to inspect his wound, and the sight of a large gaping hole in his head drew a gasp of shock from her mouth.

"Check his breathing!" Nuffink suggested urgently. Zephyr complied. She placed a hand on his wrist, and much to her relief, she felt a pulse. It was weak, but it was present nonetheless.

"Welcome!" A loud voice rang out from the sole entrance of the cave. All three riders and dragons spun around to the direction of the voice. Krizzen stood there with both his arms behind his back, a wide smile etched on his face. "I'm glad you can make it!"

Immediately after he finished, he raised his right hand and tossed multiple canisters into the small cave. The canisters broke upon impact, and a purple gas began spewing out of the canisters. The purple gas began to diffuse and fill up the small cave, causing the riders and dragons to hack and cough violently upon inhalation of the gas.

"Get out!" Eret spluttered. "It's *_cough_* dragon root gas!" All the Berkians and dragons immediately darted for the exit as fast as they could, desperate to avoid passing out from the gas. Eret grabbed Viggo in his arms, and began to run. Their visions were beginning to blur at the edges, but they knew that they had to get out.

Krizzen watched them struggle to get out with a triumphant smirk on his face. The entrance wasn't far for them, but the sheer concentration of the gas and the small size of the cave meant that they had inhaled significantly high quantities of the gas in the short while they were in there, and they should be close to passing out.

As long as they didn't make it to the exit in time.

As the riders and dragons stumbled, Krizzen pulled out a satchel from behind his back using his other hand, and dropped it right at the entrance of the cave. He pulled out his axe, and chopped a pole holding a torch. The pole tipped over and the torch fell directly onto the satchel. Immediately, the satchel exploded, sending the riders and dragons who were just reaching the entrance of the cave flying backwards. The riders landed heavily on their backs with a loud thump. The force of the impact forced the air out of their lungs, and their brains reacted by forcing them to draw in a large breath.

Which was a huge mistake.

With a few more violent coughs, the riders' muscles began to relax, and their shoulders began to slump. Their loud coughs disappeared, with only silence filling the small cave as the toxic purple gas dissipated.

As Eret clung onto consciousness, he could vaguely see Krizzen saunter into the cave and eye all of them. His vision was blurred all over and everything he heard sounded like it came from underwater, but he desperately refused to allow the ever-so-tempting sleep to claim him, knowing that if that happened he wouldn't stand any chance of fighting back at all - not that there was much chance anyway. He watched as Krizzen removed a long rope from his belt and proceeded to bind his chief's unconscious children. He watched as Krizzen moved over to him after that and proceeded to grab his wrists and bind them together. He desperately tried to fight Krizzen off, but it seemed like his nerves had disappeared or his muscles simply refused to cooperate with his brain. Either way, there was absolutely no struggle as Krizzen made quick work of his hands and feet. He watched helplessly as Krizzen walked over the unconscious Night Lights, pausing at each of them to give them a good look, but eventually left them unharmed. But when he approached the fully grown Toothless, dread filled him. Krizzen removed something and placed it over Toothless' mouth, probably a muzzle, he thought.

Having done that, Krizzen stood back up and seemed to be eyeing Toothless. Soon, weird jumbled up noises began to fill the cave. It took a while for Eret to realise that Krizzen was speaking. Using all his strength, he focused on the words; hopefully he could distinguish what was being said.

"... shouldn't… let you go off… last time… you're here… my clutches…" Eret could only distinguish bits and pieces of Krizzen's words, but he guessed that Krizzen regretted letting Toothless off at the battle of the Hidden World, but now he had him in his grasp. He watched as Krizzen turned behind to face the entrance of the cave, and Eret tried his best to take a look at what Krizzen was looking at. At first, he could only see a vague figure that seemed to fill the whole entrance. He wasn't sure if the person was wearing a large coat or if he was really large - he wasn't sure if it was a person at all. He kept trying to focus, and it seemed to be working. Gradually, his vision began to clear up, but it still remained very blur. But for a brief moment, his vision cleared enough for him to recognise who was standing in the doorway. And when he saw him, horror filled him. He'd recognise that mean face, that scar-filled face, that face that haunted many of his nightmares from anywhere. He'd recognise those long strands of hair from anywhere. He'd recognise that black cape that he wore from anywhere. He'd recognise that prosthetic arm that only one person he knew would wear.

And that was the very man who threatened to kill him and the dragon riders about twenty years ago.

That was the last thought that ran through Eret's mind before unconsciousness claimed him.

**A/N: This chapter was pre-uploaded, so any comments will be responded to on the next chapter. **


	20. Chapter 20: The Final Showdown, Part 3

Chapter 20: The Final Showdown, Part 3

"Kill him!" Rallen ordered.

The eight Rebels jerked their heads to face Hiccup simultaneously. Upon seeing him, their eyes narrowed into slits, and a growl escaped from their mouths. Hiccup watched in horror as the eight gigantic dragons slowly closed in on him from all directions, their sharp pointed teeth baring as they growled at him. He backtracked nervously, keeping an eye on all the menacing dragons in front of him. What was he going to do?

The dragons kept advancing gradually, watching for any sudden movements from their target. They knew that cornering him would be the best way to take him down. Hiccup knew that too. Taking a quick glance behind him, Hiccup saw the wall of the cavern closing in on him way too fast for his liking. _It's now or never_, he thought. He dipped his left shoulder and began to dart towards his left. The dragons saw his rapid movements, and immediately fired to their right. But that was a fake, and Hiccup ran the other way instead, away from the shots of the Rebels and into a more open area. The Rebels reacted quickly, spinning around to face their victim once again. The dragon closest to him fired at him, but Hiccup dodged expertly, rolling to his left and under the deadly stream of red hot magnesium fire. Using his momentum, Hiccup shot up onto his feet, just in time to jump to his right and out of the way of another deadly shot. _Stay on the move,_ Hiccup said to himself, remembering the one bit of advice that Gobber actually taught them during dragon training.

But he knew that he couldn't keep this up forever. There were simply too many dragons against one Viking - a Viking who didn't even have two working legs. As he dodged and rolled out of the way of the Rebels' fire, he kept trying to think of a way to show them that he was trying to help them. He jumped forward and rolled out of the way of another shot…

And then he had an idea.

He ran forward a few more strides before stopping and turning around. The Rebels were in front of him, albeit a little to the right. The cages where their mates were being held were slightly to his left. He looked around, trying to find the safest path to those cages, maybe he could find a few rocks to hide behind or some other form of cover, but the ground was relatively flat. _I wouldn't be able to use anything for cover, unless… the floor over there is a little uneven, maybe I could… It's risky, but that looks like the best choice. _

Making up his mind, Hiccup reached for his shield and unstrapped it from his belt. Placing one foot ahead of the other shoulder width apart, he leaned forward with a determined gaze. There was only one way in which he could show these dragons that he was here to help, and that was to open the cages. He used his elbow to rub his belt… yes, the keys were still attached.

Now all he had to do was make it to one of the cages. Taking a deep breath, he charged forward towards the cages. The Rebels watched as the tiny little human being charged towards their mates. Thinking he was a threat, they fired at him. Hiccup kept dodging the shots, leaping forward and doing a barrel roll every time he landed. He kept darting his gaze between the dragons and the uneven part of the floor that he decided to use for cover. _Just a few more steps… _With a powerful leap, he jumped behind a small flat protrusion in the ground and quickly laid down on his belly behind it. It was large enough to cover him from the right temporarily, and it definitely saved his life, he thought to himself as he felt the rock tremble under the force of a magnesium shot. _But I can't stay here for long_. Once the stream of fire stopped, he quickly rose onto his feet and kept running. Just four steps later, he jumped behind another small protrusion and narrowly avoided death as the shot from another Rebel struck the protrusion. He rose to his feet again, and kept this up for three more shots, before he finally ran out of cover. _No worries,_ he thought to himself, _I'm just another ten steps from the nearest cage. _Using whatever was left of his strength and stamina, he rose to his feet for what should be the last time, and dashed for the nearest cage. He tossed his shield and sword to his right where the aggressive dragons were, hoping that that action could buy him a few precious seconds. He reached his left hand to his belt, and removed the keys. _Four steps… three steps… two steps… lunge!_ He lunged forward towards the lock of the nearest cage…

Only to be greeted by a powerful tail strike to his right side. Hiccup flew to his left and landed heavily on the rocky ground with a loud thump and a groan of pain. The force of the impact caused his helmet to fly off his head and left him dazed for a while. Struggling to regain his senses, Hiccup desperately tried to get up. He flailed his limbs around for a while before he was able to find solid ground and push himself up. Holding his head, he waited a couple of seconds for his vision to clear. But he didn't have any more time to recover as a strong fire shot forced him to dive to one side to avoid being hit. Hiccup immediately got to his feet and ran forward…

_BLSSST!_

A fire blast mere centimetres in front of his face forced him to close his eyes, lean back and shield his face with his forearms and turned around. He began to run…

_BLSSST!_

Another fire blast landed directly in front of him. He shielded his face again, and turned to his right…

_BLSSST!_

Yet another fire blast landed in front of him. The sheer surprise in this attack caused him to lean backwards and close his eyes again. Unfortunately, this time he leaned too far back, and Hiccup fell backwards. Quickly using both his elbows to prop his torso up, Hiccup opened his eyes and looked around.

Only to see three Rebels glaring menacingly at him. Their pupils were still slits, and they bared their sharp teeth. They growled aggressively at him, their deep growls echoing around the cavern. Unarmed and unguarded, Hiccup backed off fearfully, using his hands to slide himself backwards. Unfortunately the wall of the cavern came closing down on him all too quickly, and soon Hiccup found himself pressing his back into the wall of the cavern. Fear etched in his eyes and expression, Hiccup took in a shaky breath. He knew how hard dragons would try to protect their mates, and these dragons probably weren't an exception. Even worse was the fact that he couldn't run anywhere. Behind him was a solid impenetrable rocky wall, and surrounding him on all three sides were the three Rebels; and the fact that all the other Rebels were closing in on him too didn't help his cause at all. He couldn't do anything to show them he was here to help besides try to reason with them.

"Hey-hey guys," Hiccup gulped. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm-I'm a friend. I can free your mates."

The dragons didn't take kindly to the last comment, baring their teeth further and growling even louder. They didn't even stop their advance. Hiccup gulped nervously again.

"I-I don't mean any harm. Please. Trust-trust me. I have the keys there, look!" He pointed at the keys that had fallen out of his hands when he was brutally smacked in the face by the tail of one of the dragons. Some of the dragons turned to look, but many of them kept their gaze on him, refusing to look away in case he tried to run. But the dragons that turned around didn't seem to trust him. They snapped their heads back to him and continued growling, before continuing to advance on him.

Nervousness and anxiousness filling him, Hiccup took another shaky breath. Talking to them hadn't worked, and they still didn't trust him. There was no way he was going to survive this if they didn't trust him. He was fully at the mercy of the dragons-

_Which is what I would do_, he thought, as a desperate, last-resort idea came into his mind. Exhaling loudly, he raised an open palm towards the closest Rebel. He turned away and closed his eyes, leaving him completely at the mercy of the dragons. This was the move that began his friendship with Toothless, and maybe it would help gain the trust of these dragons too. He wasn't sure… but it was worth a shot. Besides, what other option did he have?

The dragon looked at him curiously. He stopped growling, retracted his head a little and tilted it to one side. A confused warble came out from his mouth. This auburn-haired man that Krizzen said was coming to kill their mates seemed to be leaving himself at their disposal. Why? Why would someone who came here to harm them do such a thing? Could it be that Krizzen lied to them, and that this man didn't mean any harm? A few nerve-wracking moments passed as the dragon pondered on this. His pupils gradually grew wider and more friendly. Was this auburn-haired man actually here to save their mates? He leaned in to sniff his hand. It smelled strongly of other dragons, but there wasn't any smell of blood or death or any other harmful smells. Was he actually a friend to dragons? Could they have been wrong to attack him the whole time, and instead they should trust him? His outstretched palm was very inviting, tempting him to trust him. All he had to do was to place his snout in his palm, and he could show the man that they were wrong, and that they trusted him instead. That was all he had to do-

"KILL HIM!" Rallen bellowed, distracting the dragon. The dragon snapped out of his confused state, and immediately his pupils returned to slits and the growling from deep inside his throat continued. Hiccup retracted his hand and turned around to face the dragons. Horror filled his entire being as he watched the hot magnesium flame grow brighter and wider in the mouths of the three closest dragons. He was so close to gaining their trust, but Rallen had to distract the dragons. He knew he couldn't roll away too. There were simply too many of them planning to fire at the same time. _This is it_, he thought. _I'm dead_. He braced himself for the fatal blow, placing a hand in front of his face and watching the flame grow even hotter through the gaps between his fingers. The Rebels continued to build up their flame, preparing to deal one final blow. The flame grew bigger and bigger, and finally, deciding that they had built up enough power, they-

_BOOM!_

A stream of magnesium fire struck the closest Rebel directly in the side of his face, causing him to fire his shot mere inches to the right of Hiccup's face.

"Hiccup! Move!" Astrid's voice rang throughout the cavern. All the dragons and Hiccup looked in the direction of the newcomers. Through the entrance to the cavern came Astrid on Stormfly and the rest of the dragon riders. They burst into the cavern at a high speed and began firing at the ground around the Rebels. The Rebels ducked below a few shots and jumped out of the way of a few more, before they began baring their teeth and growling at the new intruders. Hiccup needed no second invitation to move. He jumped to his feet and darted forward as fast as his legs could take him. The Rebels suddenly noticed that their target had managed to escape from their grasp. They looked around frantically for a few moments, before they spotted him sprinting along the rocky ground. They fired in front of him, but Hiccup jumped to his right and continued running forward. There was only one objective in his mind - retrieve the keys and open the cages. He kept his eyes on his target as he ran. Within seconds, he reached the keys and bent down to pick them up. He had to dodge another shot as he picked up the keys, but he remained unharmed.

Thankfully, most of the Rebels were focused on hitting the other dragon riders, who had split up and were now causing havoc in the cave. The dragon riders fired at the ground or walls directly beside the Rebels, causing small pebbles to break from the walls and fall around the large dragons. They were trying not to hurt them but simply distract them long enough for Hiccup to free their mates. It seemed to be working well. Just as one rider would fly past a Rebel, another would be flying in the other direction, which would leave the dragon in a confused state. Out of the corner of her eye, Astrid could see Hiccup reach the nearest cage and unlock it. The mate trapped in the cage quickly ran out and let out a loud roar that echoed all around the cavern.

All the Rebels stopped firing and looked at the freed mate immediately. The mate let out another roar. This seemed to mean something to the Rebels, as they all turned their heads to look at Hiccup. He was busy unlocking another cage, and they watched him curiously. The second cage opened, and another mate ran out of the cage. They continued to watch him until he had unlocked the last cage and the last mate could escape from the cage. Having unlocked the last cage, Hiccup dropped the keys and began to step away from the dragons. He slowly walked backwards towards the entrance of the cavern where the rest of his team had regrouped. Warmth filled his heart as he watched the Rebels reunite with their mates. They were rubbing each other's snouts lovingly, their soft croons of joy and affection audible throughout the cavern.

After a few adorable moments, the Rebels turned towards Hiccup. But this time, their pupils were large and friendly, and there was a hint of a smile on their faces.

"It's okay guys, it's all over. You're free to go," Hiccup said to the Rebels, pointing at the hole at the top of the cavern. With a loud roar, the Rebels and their mates took off, flying straight up and out of the cavern through the top.

Hiccup turned to face his team. "Thanks guys, you really bailed me out this time."

"Anytime, H," Ruff said.

"Next time, I want to be the one they're firing at," Tuff said excitedly.

The rest of the team gave him an incredulous look, but Tuff seemed oblivious to it. Shrugging his shoulders, Hiccup returned to business. "Now that that's settled, we have to take care of Rallen," he said, turning around to look at the small room that Rallen was in…

But Rallen was nowhere to be seen.

"No!" Hiccup exclaimed, dashing forward to the room. The dragon riders followed suit, peering through the bars to see how Rallen may have escaped.

"Uhh, guys?" Fishlegs said, pointing upwards. All the riders looked up where he was pointing. Directly above the room was a trapdoor with a ladder inbuilt into the wall leading to it. "Guess he went out through there."

Hiccup looked at it for a while more, before giving up on whatever ideas he was forming and returning his attention to the riders. "Did you see Viggo?" Hiccup asked, suddenly remembering that Krizzen knew that Viggo was helping them.

"Zeph and Nuff did," Astrid replied hesitantly. "Krizzen had him at knifepoint, and he said that if you wanted to see him alive, you'll bring Mjolnir to him."

"Mjolnir!?" Hiccup exclaimed. "We have it?" Valka reached behind her back and pulled out the horn. She handed it over to her son, who grabbed it with both hands. Hiccup inspected the weapon, twirling it around as he held it.

"Alright," he said, letting out a sigh. "Let's go save Viggo."

"What are you going to do?" Astrid asked.

"I have no idea," he replied, placing his helmet back on and hopping onto Stormfly behind Astrid. "But I know that I don't want Viggo to die. I'll think of something on the way. Let's go."

With a tap on her head, Stormfly dashed back into the tunnel, with the rest of the dragon riders following suit.

XX

The six dragons burst into the open air, the cold air of the surroundings refreshing their lungs that have been inhaling stale musty air from the tunnels. As usual, Stormfly took the lead with Hiccup and Astrid on her back. Behind her was Meatlug with Fishlegs, Windshear with Heather, Barf and Belch with Ruff and Tuff, Snotlout with Hookfang, and Valka on Stardust. Stormfly banked to the south sharply, causing Astrid and Hiccup to hang on tightly to her saddle for dear life. The other dragons followed her. Desperate to reach Krizzen quickly, the dragons flew rapidly, the wind howling loudly in the riders' ears.

They kept flying along the side of the island, the trees by the edge of the island to their right and the rocky side of the volcano to their left. The tracks that Krizzen made in the tracks were still visible. They kept following it, rounding corners at breakneck speed.

As they rounded another sharp bend into a relatively open space, Stormfly suddenly spread her wings wide and halted. Astrid and Hiccup peeked around her head to see what caused her to stop.

About fifty meters ahead stood Krizzen, hands folded across his chest and a smirk on his face. There was something large and cuboid in shape behind him, but it was covered by a tarp, preventing them from seeing what was inside. All the other dragons halted alongside Stormfly, forming a long line of dragons. They glared at Krizzen, but didn't dare to advance. Knowing him, he wouldn't be placing himself in the open without having a plan.

"So nice to see you all!" Krizzen taunted, opening his arms wide. "I'm sure you thought about my exchange deal?"

"Yes, I have," Hiccup said as he dismounted from Stormfly and raised the visor on his helmet. "Here it is." He lifted Mjolnir up, holding it high in his left hand.

Krizzen chuckled. "Thank you!" He said cheerfully with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. "Since you fulfilled your side of the deal, here's my side of the deal." He snapped his fingers, and stretched his hand out to his right. Hiccup looked in that direction, and he saw Rallen dragging an unconscious and bleeding Viggo towards Krizzen from behind a rock. Anger filled his being as he saw how brutally Viggo was being treated. Hiccup clenched his fists and growled when he saw the pitiful state Viggo was in. Krizzen laughed when he saw Hiccup's reaction.

"Don't worry, he's alive," Krizzen said. "But if you don't hand that horn over soon, he won't be for long."

"Hiccup, don't do it," Astrid whispered to him, all the while keeping an eye on Krizzen to ensure he didn't hear what she was saying. "Zeph, Nuff, and Eret should be nearby and we can have them sneak up on him." Hiccup pondered on Astrid's words for a moment. He had no idea where they were, but he trusted what Astrid said. After all, she was probably the one who told them to do such a thing.

"You're probably thinking of a way to surprise me," Krizzen suddenly said, interrupting Hiccup's train of thought and shocking him. "Let me give you a bit more incentive to hand that horn over to me." He reached for the giant tarp behind him, and pulled it down hard, causing it to unveil whatever it was hiding.

But when Hiccup saw what was behind the veil, horror and shock filled him. All the dragon riders drew in a sharp gasp of surprise as well when they saw what was behind the tarp.

Inside three dragon-proof cages were Zephyr, Nuffink, Eret, and the three dragons. Zephyr, Nuffink, and Eret were in one cage, the two Night Lights were in another, and Toothless was in a cage by himself. They were all bound and gagged, or muzzled in the case of the dragons. Krizzen watched with glee as the faces of all the dragon riders turned from one of uncertainty to one of shock.

"Now the stakes are higher," Krizzen announced. "Hand me the horn, and I just might release them all."

Hiccup looked around at all the prisoners. His children and Eret were conscious and they were struggling desperately against their tight ropes, but to no avail. The dragons were growling at Krizzen, but with their mouths muzzled and dragon-proof material surrounding them, there was little that they could do besides create a lot of noise. Hiccup looked back at his team, silently asking them what he should do. But many were lost, just like him. On one hand, having this horn meant that Krizzen was powerless to do anything, but not returning him the horn could spell the death for all those captured. Hiccup didn't want to let Krizzen have this powerful weapon back, but he definitely didn't want Eret, Viggo, and his own children to die.

"Do it, Hiccup," Fishlegs encouraged. "There's no way you could let your own children suffer." The other dragon riders nodded their agreement. Hiccup turned back to look at Mjolnir. All this planning to get this weapon, all the planning to stop Krizzen, all the planning to finally get back the peace they so desperately wanted, all foiled at the death. He silently cursed himself for allowing Krizzen to find out that Viggo was working for them. He desperately tried to think of a way to salvage this, a way to keep Mjolnir and free the captives at the same time.

But there was no way.

With a reluctant sigh, Hiccup walked forward. His footsteps were loud among the deathly silence created by the tension of the situation. Finally, after what seemed like a long walk but in reality was only about fifty meters, Hiccup stood in front of Krizzen. He stretched Mjolnir out towards Krizzen, and Krizzen gripped it with his right hand, but Hiccup refused to release the weapon. Krizzen seemed confused for a moment, but eventually he understood what Hiccup wanted. Turning around, he nodded his head towards Rallen. Rallen walked over to the first two cages and released the Berkians and the Night Lights. "Don't try anything," he warned as he untied and freed them, but he kept the muzzles on the dragons. All the freed prisoners ran back towards the dragon riders after grabbing the unconscious Viggo, scowling at both Rallen and Krizzen as they passed. Bolt slapped Rallen's head with his tail as he passed, earning an amused chuckle from Krizzen.

"That dragon is feisty," Krizzen commented cheerily. He looked back at Hiccup and tilted his head to one side, as if he was asking Hiccup to release Mjolnir. Hiccup took a glance behind him, and he saw that the freed prisoners were safely with the other dragon riders. Guessing that Krizzen kept Toothless to have a safety net for now, Hiccup released the horn, allowing Krizzen to take it. Krizzen took Mjolnir and stashed it behind his back. Hiccup took a few steps back, and waited for Krizzen to free Toothless. Krizzen himself took a few steps back, all the while facing Hiccup, until he stood directly in front of Toothless' cage. Toothless' pupils turned to slits and he growled aggressively at Krizzen as he approached. Krizzen placed his hands on the bars and looked in. "Such a beautiful dragon," he crooned. "Beautiful green eyes, jet black scales, a truly magnificent creature… it's really such a pity…"

Hiccup kept looking at Krizzen, but his words definitely left him quite confused. _It's such a pity? _

Suddenly, Krizzen spun around and took Mjolnir in his hand. He blew into it once, and immediately pressed a button and blew into it again. Caught off guard by his sudden actions, the riders weren't able to cover the ears of their dragons in time, and before they could react their dragons had flung them off their backs and flew towards Krizzen. Hiccup watched in horror as the dragons flew over him and landed in a straight line behind Krizzen, alongside Toothless' cage. Krizzen stopped blowing, and he looked at Hiccup with a smug smile.

"Disarming the enemy is always the first step of winning a battle," he said, his smile stretching even further to the ends of his face.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup demanded. "We had a deal!"

"Yes, we did," Krizzen began. "But wouldn't you have found another way to take back Mjolnir anyway? Maybe not today, but I'm sure you would find another day to attack. After all, you're obsessed with trying to get these dragons back to the Hidden World safely." Hiccup's mouth dropped. Anger and shock filled his entire being. How could Krizzen turn around so quickly? "Anyway," Krizzen continued. "I'm doing this to prevent you from firing at me the moment I release Toothless to my good friend. I'm sure you know who he is, since you've met before."

"I know!" Tuff said. "He's telling us to guess who it is!"

"Ooh, does his name begin with an L?" Ruff asked.

"Silence!" Krizzen snapped. "I was having a moment! Why did they have to interrupt that? That was amazing." He feigned an exasperated posture, placing his free hand on his forehead and shaking his head. After a few seconds, he looked back up. "Back to the topic, my good friend may have a bone to pick with you, or rather your dragon. Seems to me that you wronged him quite a while back."

"Who is it?" Hiccup asked, confused. As far as he remembered he didn't have any enemies- well, he did have a lot of enemies, but none that were alive as far as he recalled. Krogan was dead, Ryker was dead, Grimmel was dead, and Viggo was on their side. Unless… no… it couldn't be…

"Hiccup," Krizzen shouted, drawing Hiccup out of his thoughts. "Meet my good friend and close ally…

"Drago Bludvist!"

**Reviews:**

**CalvinFuji: Nice, you figured out that it's Drago! If someone were to ask Krizzen that, I'd say he'd reply very directly, then he'll get more and more annoyed the more you ask him that until he snapped. I modelled his character after Dagur a little. I just find Dagur a really comical villain, and is probably one of my favourites, lest the fact that he wasn't always that smart. That's why I modelled Krizzen after him.**

**Rico: I don't know… but there's 5 more parts for you to find out… **

**Blackberry Avar: Thank you so much for your feedback on the chapters! I really wasn't expecting to come back and find 11 more reviews on my story. This was my first time writing a story, and I really appreciate all your feedback. Let me respond to some of them.**

**Yes, I knew that expanding empires would always have people working against them. I tried to portray Krizzen as one who has a flawed mindset, but nonetheless believes really hard in it (don't most villains have this sort of thinking anyways?) After you mentioned the bit about increasing tension and involvement, I understand that putting it in the prologue would be more effectively, and I thank you for your feedback. I'll take note of this. **

**Gobber wasn't a main character. His death just gives Hiccup more pent-up anger, leading to him breaking in the later chapter, where you said Hiccup seemed more like Stoick. Having Hiccup's former mentor and essentially second father die is a side thing to fuel Hiccup's determination to take out Krizzen **_**regardless of the outcome**_** (italicized words mean something in later chapters, but I don't want to give anything away at the moment). I didn't make this determination thing explicitly clear because I didn't think it was necessary.**

**There was a little foreshadowing, but I'd admit, not enough. I used it more on Drago just because it's a lot easier to do so; there's more things to write for him, and the smart readers did pick up on it. **

**Viggo didn't kill Gobber. It was the traitor, Rallen. Perhaps I didn't make it clear that there were two battles happening concurrently, Astrid vs Viggo, Gobber vs Rallen. I realised one flaw in my story was that I was thinking too much like a movie, where there can be scenes cutting back and forth between each other, and not more like a story. Problem is, I realised this after I completed the whole story, and I'm not really keen on going back and changing 20k+ words. I'd work on this for the next story though. Once again, thank you for your feedback. It gave me good pointers that I'll take note of for future stories. **

**A/N: I'm going overseas for almost the entire month of October, so I'll be pre-uploading a few chapters. Also, because I want to be around for the final chapter, I'll slow things down and upload one chapter a week until the end of October, sorry! The next chapter would be the last one where I will respond to reviews, then the following 3 or 4 chapters would be pre-uploaded. I'll only continue responding to comments again in the last week of October. **


	21. Chapter 21: The Final Showdown, Part 4

Chapter 21: The Final Showdown, Part 4

The man appeared out from the shadows and stepped into the sunlight. His black cape flapped behind him as he walked towards Krizzen, his menacing-looking scythe in his right hand. Time has done a number on him, as his face was covered in more wrinkles and creases, but nevertheless the evil look that would send a shiver down anyone's spine still remained etched on his face. He wore a cruel smile, and his long snakey hair reached the top of his belt. He kept a cold eye on Hiccup as he walked towards Krizzen, his metal prosthetic that replaced his left arm gleaming in the sunlight.

"So, we meet again… Hiccup," Drago growled, or rather spat as he mentioned Hiccup's name.

"Drago…" Hiccup growled back, a snarl appearing on his face. This was the man who was responsible for the death of his father, and Hiccup despised- no, downright hated him for that. Many nights after the battle against Drago he would lay awake in bed thinking of ways to get his revenge, but no matter what he thought of, the fact of the matter was that Drago had vanished off the face of Midgard, and there was nothing he could do. Besides, the rational and compassionate side of him would take over after a while, and he would calm down.

But now here he was, glaring at the man that he could confidently say was the one he hated the most. Drago seemed to share that sentiment. He glared back at Hiccup, but he wore an evil smile.

"Ever since ya' took all the dragons thanks to your alpha, I have thought of getting my revenge," Drago said.

"Ever since you took the life of my father, I have thought of getting my revenge too," Hiccup replied.

Drago laughed evilly. "Hiccup," he began. "I don't know if ya' know this, but I have the upper hand now. I have Krizzen on my side, and all the dragons too." Krizzen waved cheerily at Hiccup.

"You may have them for now," Hiccup said. "But as long as Toothless is the alpha, you can't control them forever."

"I know," Drago said. "That's why I'm going to take back the alpha status from that blasted Night Fury."

As he finished, he shouted at the top of his lungs and raised his scythe in the air and swirled it around his head. Immediately, the ground began to shake. The ground vibrated with such force that the dragon riders had to drop to their hands and knees to prevent themselves from falling over. Krizzen reached out to the bars of Toothless' cage and held on too. The only one unaffected was Drago, who continued his scream and twirling throughout the whole time. Finally, as the ground stopped shaking, the water level seemed to rise until the edge of the island, which was at least ten meters above the sea level. The water rose up and finally broke apart as a humongous dragon surfaced and looked around at his surroundings. He towered over the island, in fact he was almost the height of the volcano. His broken tusk stood out like a sore thumb among his vicious appearance, but nevertheless he induced fear in everyone. After all, he was none other than…

The Bewilderbeast.

The one that controlled Toothless to kill Stoick.

All the dragon riders looked up to see the Bewilderbeast. Even Krizzen looked up at the mighty dragon, whistling his approval and amazement. The Bewilderbeast looked around for a moment, before he spotted the group of Vikings on the island. His searching gaze turned into a glare, and he glared menacingly at them.

"When your alpha called all the dragons to the Hidden World, this alpha refused to follow the call because of what your Night Fury did to him," Drago explained. "He stayed with me, and we bided our time, waiting for the perfect moment to take revenge. About ten years later, Krizzen came around and told me of his plan to conquer the world." He glanced at Krizzen with an evil smile that Krizzen seemed to reciprocate. "Many years ago, that was my plan too." A sad look seemed to briefly flash across his face. "But I'm getting old, and at my age it's no longer possible. So I worked with Krizzen to achieve my one last goal." He paused, and turned around to look at Toothless. He walked forward towards the bars and gave an evil smile as he looked at Toothless. Toothless growled at him, but Drago's gaze remained on the muzzled dragon.

After a few seconds, he turned to Krizzen and nodded his head. Krizzen understood what he was trying to say, and he began to pull Toothless' cage towards the Bewilderbeast. Suddenly, it struck Hiccup. He fully understood what Drago meant that he would reclaim the status of alpha. He fully understood what Krizzen meant by it would be a huge pity. He fully understood what Drago wanted. Horror coarsed through his veins, and despair filled his entire being.

"My last goal," Drago continued, looking back at Hiccup. "Is exacting revenge…

"...by killing the alpha dragon!"

Krizzen pulled the cage right beside the Bewilderbeast at the edge of the island, and he ran away from the massive dragon to safety. The Bewilderbeast bent his head down and began to glare intensely at the caged Night Fury. Toothless looked back at him, but instead of the usual aggression and determination that he would have when fighting off an enemy, all he had in his eyes was fear. He backed off towards the farthest wall of the cage, but it wasn't too far away. The Bewilderbeast kept moving closer to the edge of the island, and Toothless tried to shrink himself into a corner of the cage. But there was nowhere he could run to, and he looked at the massive alpha towering over him with a fearful look.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted, stretching a hand towards his beloved dragon. Toothless looked back at Hiccup, and the fear and helplessness in his eyes broke Hiccup's heart. He so desperately wanted to run to his dragon and save him, but the wall of hypnotised dragons in his pathway prevented him from doing so. Helplessness and despair filled him. He couldn't think of any way to save Toothless, but that doesn't mean that he wouldn't stop trying-

A loud roar from the Bewilderbeast brought everyone's attention back to the enormous dragon. Toothless jerked his head back at the large creature, and a large pair of vengeful and hateful eyes met his fearful gaze. Toothless let out a warble, and the Bewilderbeast leaned even closer until he was inches away from Toothless' cage.

Suddenly, the Bewilderbeast opened his mouth, and to the horror of every single Berkian present, ice-cold water burst forth from his mouth, completely freezing Toothless' cage upon impact and hiding the jet black dragon from everyone's view. Having frozen the entire cage, he closed his mouth, and drew his head backwards, before charging his head forward.

And aiming the tip of his one remaining tusk directly at the frozen cage.

"NOOO!" Hiccup cried, a tone of despair in his voice. But he could do nothing but cover his eyes as the tusk pierced straight through the block of ice. Tiny chunks of ice flew in all directions and the cracking sounds of the ice could be heard around the island. All the dragon riders were speechless, and their jaws hung open loosely. They were left shell-shocked as they watched the gigantic Bewilderbeast ruthlessly decimate the block of ice with his tusk one more time, before grabbing the ice block in his jaws and flinging it towards his left with all his might. The ice block flew across the sea, before it crashed into another mountain on an adjacent island at least a kilometre away. Even so. the crash was audible from the very island that the riders stood on, and chunks of rock and ice were sent flying in all directions when the ice block struck the side of the mountain. The ice block rolled down the mountain for a while, before coming to a rest on the grassy ground. The riders watched the ice block with bated breath for a moment, hoping to see something; anything that showed that there was still some hope.

But there was no movement at all. They waited for a few more seconds, desperately trying to avoid the reality of the situation. But as the seconds continued to tick by and the block of ice remained as still as a rock, they had no choice but to admit it.

Toothless was dead.

The Night Fury that had begun the friendship between Vikings and dragons was dead.

The Night Fury that had defeated the Red Death and the Bewilderbeast was dead.

The alpha that led all the dragons to the safety of the Hidden World was dead.

Hiccup's best friend… was dead.

Hiccup collapsed to his knees as he continued to stare dumbfoundedly at the island where Toothless was flung to. A soft whimper escaped his lips, and a choked sob could be heard. "Toothless…" he whimpered. Tears filled his emerald-green eyes. The pain of losing a dragon that all the dragon riders had a close friendship with was great, but the pain of seeing a broken and devastated Hiccup was even greater. They all knew that he had a special bond with Toothless, a special closeness that none of them had with their dragons. They were close to their own dragons, but there was something special between Hiccup and Toothless. _Was_. The thought of this still shocked them.

Drago turned around, and he saw the frozen state of all the riders. But what pleased him the most was the kneeling and broken figure of Hiccup. Through the raised visor he could see the tears flowing down his cheeks and all the pain of losing that Night Fury. He grinned. Seeing this sight was completely worth all the years he had to wait for this. _Revenge is sweet. And now, they will all pay…_

"AHHHHHH!" A loud scream came from Drago's mouth as he swung the scythe over his head. All the dragon riders diverted their attention back to him. The Bewilderbeast slowly turned his massive head to look back at his master. Drago glanced over his shoulder, and he saw the large dragon looking at him. With an evil smirk, he slowly turned his head to look back at the dragon riders.

"Behold! The new, and rightful alpha!" Drago bellowed. The Bewilderbeast roared an ear-splitting roar. Immediately, all the dragons on the island, all the caged dragons and the uncaged dragons, turned around to face the new alpha. Their pupils slitted, they bowed down simultaneously to the Bewilderbeast. The Bewilderbeast let out another roar.

Drago watched all this with a smile. How he longed for this day, where his dragon would become the alpha again. The time he had to wait seemed like forever, but it finally came, and it was unfolding right before his eyes. Now, there was one thing that Krizzen wanted him to do, and he was more than happy to oblige…

"Dragon!" He commanded, causing the alpha to turn his head towards him. Drago turned around to face the Berkians, and his mouth curled upwards to form yet another cruel and evil smile. He raised his scythe towards them, and he commanded again.

"End them!"

The Bewilderbeast roared, and the Berkians watched in horror as their own dragons surrounded them from all sides. Stormfly landed right in front of Hiccup, her eyes slitted and her teeth bared. Hiccup quickly rose to his feet and backed off towards the other riders, his palms opened in front of him as a defensive measure. All the riders slowly backed off towards each other. The nine dragons surrounded their front, left and right, and behind them was the rocky face of the volcano that they had no hope of climbing up. An aggressive Stormfly was on their leftmost, followed by Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Windshear, Stardust, Bolt, Dusk, and Thunder on their rightmost. The nine dragons kept closing in on them, causing them to huddle even closer together. They kept backing off until they felt the cold rocky face of the mountain against their backs. With nowhere else to move to, the Berkians watched fearfully as their very own dragons kept closing in on them.

"Stormfly, it's me girl, don't you remember me?" Astrid pleaded, trying to get her dragon to snap out of her hypnosis. But the Nadder kept snarling and advancing.

"Hookie! Stop this!" Snotlout tried too, but to no avail.

"Meatlug! My girl, don't do this!" "Barf! It's me, Ruff!" "Belch, go blow something else up!" "Windshear, Heather's here!" "Bolt, please!" "Dusk…" "Thunder!" "Stardust!" All the riders tried to plead with their hypnotised dragons, but nothing happened. The dragons kept advancing on them until they were in a line directly in front of them with no gaps in between.

Suddenly, to the horror of all of them, their mouths opened and they watched helplessly as the dragons began to build up their shots. A hot magnesium fire began to grow in Stormfly's mouth; a burning fire in Hookfang and Meatlug's mouth; the explosive green gas in Barf's mouth and sparks in Belch's mouth; a blue fire in Windshear's mouth; and a purple glow emanated from the three Night Lights and the Light Fury. They watched their very own dragons prepare to kill them with wide eyes. All the years that they lived in harmony with them flashed past their eyes. They had tried to talk their dragons out of their state, to get them to snap out of it, but it hadn't worked. There was no way to run away too. They kept trying to find some way to prevent themselves from being brutally incinerated by their dragons, but they couldn't find a way.

"So this is it, huh?" Snotlout said. "I guess we're all going to be burnt alive here."

"Cool!" Tuff said. "I hope I get a scar. It's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"You won't get a scar, muttonhead, you'll be dead!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"Oh Thor, oh Thor, oh Thor," Fishlegs muttered.

Hiccup reached for Astrid's hand and their fingers intertwined. They looked at each other and shared a sad smile. Silently, they accepted the situation, and they were going to go down together-

A thick grey smoke began to descend on all of them and the aggressive dragons. The Berkians looked around them, confusion on their faces. The hypnotised dragons stopped building up their shots and began to look around for whatever might be causing this disturbance. In a matter of seconds, the smoke became so thick that they couldn't see their outstretched hands in front of them. Suddenly, there was the sound of rushing wind, and the flapping of massive wings. Before they could register anything, the riders were picked off the solid ground and they could no longer feel the rocky ground beneath them. They kept ascending for a while, sharp talons digging into their armour the whole while. After a few seconds, they broke through the thick smoke and they looked above them. When they saw what it was, happiness and relief washed over all their faces.

The Rebels! They returned to save them! There were seven Rebels flying together, with two Berkians being carried in the talons of each dragon except for the last dragon who was carrying the unconscious Viggo. Hiccup looked back, and he saw the last Rebels spewing thick smoke on the place where they were. Upon seeing that all the humans have made it out, the Rebel stopped spewing smoke and followed them.

XX

Krizzen looked around frantically as the thick smoke began to encapsulate the whole area. He was watching with unrestrained delight as the Berkians were slowly cornered by their own dragons and they tried in vain to plead. He was watching as the dragons prepared to fire the fatal blows that would end his first enemies, but suddenly this thick grey smoke began to form, and before long he could barely see a thing. Suddenly, there was this loud rushing of wind and flapping of wings, and the sounds faded away after a few seconds. Panicked, he rushed forward towards the dragons and bumped straight into the Gronckle. He pushed past them and into the little area where the Berkians were cornered at.

But to his horror, the place was empty.

The Berkians had vanished.

He coughed as he pushed back past the dragons and into the open air where the smoke had cleared a little. Drago and Rallen were gazing up into the sky. He followed their gaze, and soon he saw what they were looking at.

In the sky were the eight Rebels that they had kept, and they were carrying the blasted Berkians in their claws.

Frustrated, Krizzen slammed his fists on the rocky ground. "Why!? Why do they have to escape _every. Single. Time_!?" He slammed his fists with every word. Drago watched him emotionlessly, the cruel look still on his face.

"They will be back," he said. "They will keep trying to free the rest of the dragons."

Krizzen realised the implication of his words, and he composed himself. "You're right," he said. "Let's prepare. Rallen, go and help the men at the catapults. They're probably tied up or something. After that send them to the docks to hold off the Berkian fleet." Rallen nodded and set off towards the north immediately. "Drago, let's free these dragons. After all, we have the alpha now."

Drago grinned, and began to follow Krizzen. "We will be prepared," he growled.

Krizzen laughed evilly. "Yes we will," he responded. "Come at us, Hiccup. We will end you and your miserable army."

XX

The Rebels flew for a while, before landing on a small island. The Rebels dropped the Berkians on the island, and Hiccup immediately ran to the coastline. Krizzen's island was barely visible along the horizon, the tall volcano just a silhouette. The skyline behind the island was a bright orange colour, and the setting sun was partially hidden by the volcano. It would've been a pretty nice sight, except for all the death and destruction that had already occurred.

Hiccup removed his helmet and stood on the coastline for a while. He stared blankly at the island as he processed all that had happened. First, Krizzen and Rallen had figured out his plan and read him like a book. Then his children and Eret were captured and he had handed over Mjolnir for their lives. Then Toothless had… the thought of it brought tears to his eyes. _And it's all my fault_, he thought.

Astrid approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her, and she saw the sadness and anguish in his eyes. The look of helplessness and despondency was in his eyes too. It pained her heart to see her husband like this. She tried to find words to comfort him, but she couldn't find anything to say. So she didn't. She stood beside him and gazed off towards the sunset just like he was doing. Hiccup turned back to face the island too, the same blank look in his eyes. They sat down on the grassy side and simply sat in silence beside each other.

After a while, Hiccup broke the silence. "I don't know what to do, Astrid," he admitted. "They saw through everything, whereas I barely knew anything. I didn't know that Drago was there, and his Bewilderbeast, and now…" His voice trailed off, and he looked at his feet. "Toothless is gone." His voice broke as he said those few words. Her heart reached out to him, and she hugged him. He buried his face in her shoulders and his body trembled. She sat silently for a while, listening to his silent sobs and feeling his body shake as he sobbed. They stayed like this for a while.

Eventually, Hiccup calmed down, and he straightened himself out. His emerald green eyes met her azure blue eyes. Hiccup expected to see disappointment and sadness in her eyes, but to his surprise, he didn't see that in her eyes. "Aren't you disappointed or something?" Hiccup asked, confused.

Astrid looked back at the horizon. "Maybe," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe I am disappointed that your plan didn't work out." Hiccup looked back at his feet. He didn't dare to say anything in case it would anger Astrid.

"But it doesn't mean that it's your fault," Astrid continued.

Hiccup turned to look back at Astrid. She was still looking off into the horizon. Her posture was relaxed; she had placed her hands behind her and was leaning back on her palms. Hiccup was surprised at this. How could she remain so calm in spite of all that had happened?

Astrid turned to look at him, compassion and trust in her eyes. "How could you have found out that Drago and his Bewilderbeast was here?" She asked. "How would you have known that Krizzen knew about your plan?" She leaned forward towards Hiccup. "Hiccup, it wasn't your fault. You didn't have much information to work with, and Krizzen got lucky. I bet he didn't plan to capture Zeph, Nuff, and Eret. I bet he didn't plan to capture Toothless that way. But he got lucky, and things worked out for him. He was lucky that we didn't know about Drago."

Hiccup pondered on this for a moment. What his wife said was true. Krizzen seemed to get incredibly lucky. While he had to admit, Krizzen was talented at countering plans and he did manage to outplay him sometimes, his backup plans seemed to barely scrape through.

"It's about time his luck ended," Astrid continued. "We know everything we need to know, and now you have the information to make a good plan from here."

Hiccup looked up at Astrid. Determined azure blue eyes met his uncertain gaze. He looked behind him at the rest of the dragon riders. They stood at where the Rebels dropped them. All of them looked at him with trusting looks. They counted on him to lead them into battle again. The Rebels looked at him too, and they seemed to be waiting for him. _They listen to those they trust and respect_. Krizzen's words to him when they fought at the Hidden World echoed through his head. He looked at Shineterror. Shineterror looked at him with dilated pupils. Beside him was his mate, who gave him the same friendly look too. _I gained their trust and respect by freeing their mates. _

Hiccup finally turned back to look at his beloved. She still wore the same determined look. Everyone believed in him, and this comforted him. Hiccup's mood began to change, and his uncertain and confused look began to change to one of determination and grit. _If everyone believes in me, I will lead them. To victory this time. _

"So, what are you going to do, babe?" She asked him, a smile stretching across her face upon noticing his change.

"Probably something crazy."

"That's the Hiccup I know."

Hiccup slowly stood up, and took one last look at the island where they would be fighting for their lives again. He turned around and began to walk back to the dragon riders and the Rebels - his team. They were counting on him, and they needed him to lead them.

And lead them he will.

"Alright gang," Hiccup began. "Listen up. Here's the new plan…"

**Reviews:**

**JustANormalHTTYDFan: Maybe he could've, maybe he would… **

**Blackberry: Upload the next few chapters into the doc manager first, and then all I have to do is upload the chapters using my phone. Not really the most viable solution, but it doesn't require me to have a computer. **

**Calvin: All those puns… And I don't even want to mention how something there might be accurate… **

**A/N: Last chapter I'll be responding to reviews until the end of the month. I'll be overseas for training for most of October, so I don't have a computer. Chapters will come once a month, but it wouldn't be every weekend. It'll come once a week, I promise, but when during the week I cannot confirm. **


	22. Chapter 22: The Final Showdown, Part 5

Chapter 22: The Final Showdown, Part 5

The Rebels flew speedily towards the volcanic island, carrying the dragon riders on their backs. Besides Valka who stayed behind to look after Viggo, the rest of them were part of the team attacking Krizzen. Hiccup and Astrid led the charge on Shineterror, the rest taking up various positions behind. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Heather, and Eret were riding on one dragon each, Ruff and Tuff shared a dragon, and the three teens shared another. They looked a formidable force, all of them donning their metallic and dragon-scale armour. The sound of the onrushing wind could be heard as they flew directly towards the sunset. But they weren't thinking about the thrill of being in the air. The only thing they focused on was the upcoming battle with Krizzen and the controlled dragons.

As time passed, the island became larger and larger. They flew even higher into the clouds to conceal themselves from the island. From the clouds, Hiccup could take a good look at what was happening on the island. At the south, Drago and Krizzen were busy organising the dragons into some formation, probably to attack the Berkian and Berkian ally fleet. In the north, Rallen was freeing the bound soldiers.

"Alright gang," Hiccup began. "Zeph, Nuff, Smitelout, Eret, go and stop Rallen from freeing all the soldiers. Try and keep them all there for a while. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff, keep the dragons distracted. Try and keep them away from us. Heather, Astrid, fight Krizzen and Drago."

"What about you?" Snotlout asked.

"I'll take the Bewilderbeast," Hiccup said.

"How?" Fishlegs asked. "I doubt that dragon would be very willing to listen to you. He didn't even heed Toothless' call to go to the Hidden World."

"I'll try to talk to him, I guess," Hiccup said, a little uncertainly for their liking. "But if that doesn't work, then I guess I have no other choice."

"And what's that?" Ruff asked, oblivious to his implications.

"Kill it, duh!" Snotlout exclaimed. Hiccup winced at that thought. He knew that was what he meant, but hearing it sounded a lot worse than thinking of it. Being the dragon-loving person he was, he would try his best to avoid killing the Bewilderbeast. After all, good dragons only do bad things when controlled by bad people, right? Suddenly, the thought of the Red Death came to his mind. She wasn't being controlled by anyone, yet she did all those despicable things to the poor dragons. _Maybe… some dragons are evil…_ Hiccup pushed that thought out of his head. He would only think of that if he absolutely required to.

"Alright guys," Hiccup said, taking control again. "Let's go."

The team immediately split up, going where they were meant to go. Zephyr, Nuffink, Smitelout, and Eret rapidly descended on the northern side of the island, catching many freed soldiers by surprise. Due to their sudden approach, the soldiers were caught off guard; many of them not even wielding a weapon. Zephyr, Nuffink, and Smitelout made quick work of them. They hit the defenseless soldiers with the hilt of their weapons while the soldiers were still dumbfounded, and they knocked a few out. Eventually, the soldiers realised what was happening, and they scrambled to get their weapons. They ran towards where all their weapons were piled up, but before they reached the pile of swords, maces, and axes, a scorching stream of fire burnt the path directly ahead of them, causing them to suddenly halt in their tracks. Many of them fell on their backs, and when they raised their heads, an enormous dragon was glaring directly back at them. Scared for their lives, the soldiers immediately retreated, but they ran straight into the waiting arms of the Berkian teenagers, or rather the waiting hilts of the weapons of the teenagers. They were knocked unconscious quickly, and the teenagers wasted no time in tying them up.

Eret landed behind Rallen as he was untying another soldier. The moment Rallen heard the sound of the Rebel's footsteps on the soil, he whipped around and unsheathed his sword. He barely took out his sword in time to block Eret's first attack. The sound of metal clanging against metal rang out, and Rallen stumbled backwards against the force of Eret's quick attack. Eret went on the offensive again, raining strike after strike on Rallen. Rallen barely had enough time to block the attacks. The moment he parried one, he just raised his sword in time to block the next. But eventually, Eret landed a strike that was too powerful for him to stay on his feet, and he landed on his back. He quickly rolled to the side as Eret's sword came crashing down on the ground where he was lying, his blade burying deep into the earth. Taking advantage of this, Rallen planted a firm kick on the side of Eret's stomach just as he removed his sword from the soil. Eret fell onto the floor, and immediately raised his sword above his face to parry Rallen's blow. The two of them remained locked in this position for a while, Rallen pushing down on his sword while Eret desperately fought against it. They glared daggers at each other as they pushed with all their might.

"Give up, scum," Rallen hissed.

"Never," Eret spat back.

"Your fight is over. We have the alpha and way more dragons than you. You've lost," Rallen replied.

"Well, we have something you don't," Eret said, catching Rallen a little off guard.

"What could you possibly have that our army doesn't?" Rallen asked.

"Their respect," Eret said as a smile grew on his face. Rallen looked to his right, and he was greeted by a tail swipe to his face. He flew backwards for a few meters before he finally crashed against the rocky face of the mountain. His sword dropped out of his grip, and he landed on the floor with a thud.

"Thanks mate," Eret said to the Rebel. The Rebel crooned affectionately at him. "Now we have to take care of- where's Rallen?"

He looked at where Rallen was, but he was nowhere to be found. His sword remained on the floor, but there was no sign of the man himself. Eret looked around desperately, trying to find out how he could've possibly escaped, but he couldn't figure it out. Suddenly, he noticed that the Rebel beside him had his head pointing in a specific direction with his pupils slitted. Eret looked in said direction, and immediately he spotted what the dragon was looking at.

A trapdoor in the floor.

Eret ran over to the trapdoor and tried to pride it open, but it was locked. What's even worse was that it was made out of dragon-proof material, which prevented the Rebel from blowing it open. Frustrated, Eret ran back to the teenagers. He reached them just as they finished tying up the last soldier.

"What's up, Eret?" Smitelout asked, seeing the frustration on Eret's face.

"Rallen's escaped," Eret said curtly. "We have to get back to Hiccup."

The Berkian teenagers nodded, and they quickly mounted back onto their Rebel. With a nod to each other, they took to the skies again, flying quickly towards the south.

XX

The dragon riders flew in to the south on the backs of the Rebels. Upon seeing them, Drago let out a snarl. He began to twirl his scythe above his head and shouting loudly, drawing the attention of the Bewilderbeast. The Bewilderbeast looked at his master, and Drago pointed at the three Rebels in the sky that had Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Ruff and Tuff on them. The Bewilderbeast narrowed his eyes, and he let out a roar that caused the pupils of all the freed dragons to become slits. The hypnotised dragons - and there were about fifty of them freed already - suddenly jerked their heads towards the group in the sky.

"Oh Thor," Fishlegs muttered when he saw the large group of dragons facing off against him. They all took off and began to fly directly towards the four of them.

"Let's go!" Snotlout said. He remembered his leader's words to him just before they embarked on this mission. _I trust you to lead them, Snotlout. _Those words meant everything to him. He had tried to gain the approval of Hiccup so many times during their adventures, but he hadn't paid too much attention. But now, knowing that Hiccup had trusted him all along…

"Sky!" Snotlout shouted, and the Rebels complied. They began to shoot upwards towards the sky with a large group of dragons in tow. When they had flown high enough, they split in three different directions, each Rebel drawing a significant number of dragons towards them.

When the group of dragons were closing in, Snotlout tapped his Rebel on the head. The Rebel glanced back at him knowingly, and he began to spew thick grey smoke from his mouth, blocking the view of the dragons behind. The dragons behind halted and hovered in mid air, completely disoriented by the lack of vision. The Rebel continued to circle around them, spewing even more smoke and further obstructing their vision.

Fishlegs flew in large circles, preventing the dragons from reaching him. Suddenly, a few dragons fired at him, and he had to duck to keep his head intact. "Oh Thor, oh Thor," he muttered over and over to himself. He glanced behind and he saw the dragons slowly closing in on him. "I'm so sorry," he muttered before pulling back on his Rebel. The Rebel stopped suddenly, spreading his wings wide. His large body and wide wingspan blocked many dragons from passing by, and his suddenness caused many dragons to fly straight into him. The dragons crashed head-first into the Rebel and fell down towards the sea. Fishlegs knew that they wouldn't be seriously hurt and they would recover quickly, but he still hated the idea that he had to hurt the dragons. Once most of the dragons had been dealt with, he nudged his Rebel, who proceeded to fly again. Fishlegs took an apprehensive glance behind, unwilling to look at the hurt he caused. But to his relief, he saw many of the dragons recovering and beginning to fly after him.

Ruff and Tuff flew around, avoiding shots from the enraged dragons behind them. They kept ducking and dodging. Suddenly, Ruff turned to Tuff. "I have an idea," she said. She directed the Rebel to fly in a narrow circle, until they were directly behind the dragons that were at the back of the group. The dragons, noticing that their target had gone behind them, turned around to fire. "Sky!" Ruff shouted, and the Rebel immediately complied, beating his wings hard and rising up as fast as he could. Ruff looked down, and to her relief she saw exactly what she wanted to see. The dragons in front and behind them fired at the same time, and because they moved out of the way, the dragons hit each other and were left momentarily stunned. "Cool!" Tuff exclaimed, beaming widely. Ruff smiled back at her prank-loving brother. She knew he liked watching these types of things. "Let's go!" She said, and kept directing their Rebel forward.

XX

Drago and Krizzen watched as the Berkians fended off the dragons controlled by the Bewilderbeast. Smoke formed in the sky, shots were being fired, and dragons were falling but recovering quickly. However, unbeknownst to them, two Rebels were landing behind them, and two female warriors dismounted soundlessly. They snuck up on Drago and Krizzen, and suddenly, with a loud battlecry, they charged forward, their axes raised and ready to strike.

Drago and Krizzen turned around, and saw Heather and Astrid charging towards them. Being the younger of the two, Krizzen managed to roll out of the way of Astrid's strike. Drago raised his prosthetic arm to block Heather's attack, but age was not on his side, and Heather's swift follow-up kick landed squarely on the right side of his stomach. Drago bent over to his right, and Heather raised the hilt of her axe to strike Drago on his head as he bent over. The hilt landed squarely on his forehead, knocking him out instantly. Having dealt with Drago, Heather moved over to help Astrid.

Krizzen manage to draw his sword while he rolled away, and he parried Astrid's attack. Astrid noticed that Krizzen was left handed, just like Hiccup. _I've had more than enough practice fighting with Hiccup_, she thought to herself. Using her momentum, she kept up her rapid attacks, but Krizzen was able to react in time, partying all her attacks. However, he failed to notice the black-haired woman advancing from his right, and a strong flying kick to his stomach sent him flying to his left. He landed heavily on the ground, but he used his momentum to roll around and quickly stand back up on his feet. Being a slight distance away, Astrid and Heather didn't charge in for another attack. The two women faced off against Krizzen, both parties waiting for each other to make the first move.

"Give up Krizzen, it's two against one," Heather remarked.

"Nonsense! I've fought more than these and won," Krizzen replied.

"But you're not facing off against two of the greatest warriors in the archipelago," Astrid added.

"That's quite an unfounded statement, don't you think?" Krizzen said. "You haven't fought everyone, have you?"

"We've fought many, and we've emerged victorious many times," Heather said.

"Hmm," Krizzen let out a thoughtful hum. "But have you fought me?"

Having said that, he charged straight in between them, sword raised high above his head. Astrid and Heather moved to their right and left respectively, allowing him to run right through. But when Krizzen reached in front of them, he jumped off with his left foot and spun to his right, aiming his sword directly at Heather. Heather was surprised at his move, but she was ready nonetheless. She moved her axe to block, and the sound of metal clanging against metal could be heard from far away. But the moment Krizzen landed on the ground, he ducked down and did a spinning kick directed at her feet. She tried to jump, but she was too slow. His leg kicked the side of her left boot, and before she knew it she had fallen to the ground.

Astrid reacted a little late, and began charging at Krizzen only when he landed on the ground. She raised her axe when he was still on the ground, but Krizzen rolled onto his back and raised his sword above his face to parry Astrid's blow. Her axe struck his sword right on the blade, sparks flying out from the contact. He tilted his blade to his right, and Astrid's axe slid off his blade and towards the ground, causing her to fall on the floor. But she rolled away as Krizzen's sword came crashing down on the ground. Krizzen kept attacking, and Astrid blocked blow after blow. As he swung his sword however, he suddenly felt a hard kick on his ribs. He fell to the floor with a thud, but he quickly jumped back onto his feet. When he turned to attack Astrid again, he was blocked by Heather's axe. They growled at each other, neither side willing to be the first to relent. Seeing that her friend was stuck, Astrid ran up to Krizzen and prepared to strike him with the hilt of her axe. Krizzen took a quick glance to his left and saw her approaching. He dropped a knee and leaned backwards, causing Heather to fall on top of him and straight into the path of Astrid's attack. Astrid had to react quickly and pull back to avoid knocking Heather out. But Heather also saw Astrid's axe about to hit her head, and she released her hold on Krizzen and rolled out of the way, leaving Krizzen free to attack again.

XX

As the fight between Krizzen and the women raged on, Hiccup descended rapidly towards the island. He scanned the area rapidly, looking out for anything that might trap him or capture him. After a quick glance, he looked straight at his target.

The Bewilderbeast.

Upon hearing his master and his new ally being attacked, the massive dragon slowly turned his head to look at the fight. He watched for a few seconds as his master's ally fought off the two women. He turned towards the dragons in the sky and prepared to call them back…

When a blast of fire on his spiked back caused him to lurch forward slightly.

He turned around to face the cause of his distraction, eyes aggressive and hostile. Swooping around in the sky was one of those huge grey dragons that he couldn't control. Anger surging in him, he sprayed a stream of icy cold water at the dragon, but because of his quick size the Rebel was able to outfly the attack. The Rebel flew around the Bewilderbeast, staying out of his line of fire. The Bewilderbeast kept turning around, trying to place the Rebel in his line of fire. But as the Rebel kept flying faster, he suddenly spun the other way, and waited for the right moment to shoot. It was only a matter of time before he flew straight into his path, and he was all ready to eliminate one of those who refused to listen to him.

"Hey there, big guy." A voice from behind him distracted him and stopped him from firing. He slowly turned around to face the source of the voice. Hiccup watched with trepidation as the massive Bewilderbeast turned to face him, his eyes clearly showing his annoyance at the new distraction. He was lucky enough that Shineterror was able to drop him on the island without the alpha noticing, because he was sure that the alpha would've killed him without hesitation.

As the alpha turned, he pressed the release cache on his flight suit and stretched out his hands, causing his dragon-scale wings to open wide. The Bewilderbeast came closer to him, eyes still narrowed. Hiccup flapped his arms a little, causing the wings to flap. The Bewilderbeast kept watching him. Hiccup wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but he kept trying to get to the alpha. He hoped that all these antics would get the dragon to accept him as a friend, but how exactly would this happen he had no idea.

The Bewilderbeast came right beside where he stood on the edge of the island. Anxiety filled Hiccup as the Bewilderbeast came so close that Hiccup could just reach out a hand and touch his face. The dragon sniffed him for a while, and then he backed away slightly. Hiccup didn't know whether to take this as a good or bad sign, so he kept standing there with his hands outstretched and wings open.

The two of them kept looking at each other for a while, neither making a move which made Hiccup very anxious. Suddenly, the alpha blew a small gust of cold wind that pushed the visor on Hiccup's helmet up. Now the dragon could see very clearly that it was a human that stood before him, and not some new dragon species.

With his disguise gone, Hiccup lowered his arms as the Bewilderbeast closed in towards him again, eyes narrowed. "Hey there," Hiccup started. "I'm a friend. I don't want to hurt you." The Bewilderbeast kept looking at him with an annoyed look, but he didn't kill him instantly, which Hiccup took as a good sign. "There's no need for all these," Hiccup said, waving his arms around at the battles raging around him. "You can stop all this meaningless fighting. Take the dragons back to the Hidden World and rule there." How it pained him to say these words! Toothless was the rightful ruler of the Hidden World; the Night Fury and his Light Fury. They should be living peacefully there, but because of Krizzen they had been forced to fight, and then Toothless…

"The Hidden World is an amazing place," Hiccup continued, trying to convince the alpha. _It wasn't his fault he was evil_, he kept telling himself. _Good dragons under the control of bad people do bad things. He had to be good, if only he could bring out that good side…_ "It's a peaceful place. Dragons live in harmony there, and there aren't any humans to interfere. I won't be there to disturb you, they won't be there to disturb you," he gestured at everyone in the sky and on the island. "And Drago wouldn't be there too."

However, upon the mention of Drago's name, the Bewilderbeast's eyes narrowed even further into slits, and he began to roar at Hiccup. Hiccup put a hand in front of his face to shield his face from the loudness of the roar. When he finally stopped roaring and Hiccup dropped his hand however, horror crept up his spine. Icy cold water was beginning to build up in the alpha's throat. Fear gripped him hard. He turned to run, but it was too late. The icy water came flying to him faster than a Night Fury. Helpless to do anything, he felt the water touch the tip of his arm. He prepared to be frozen right then and there, just like how Johann was frozen right above him.

When suddenly sharp talons gripped him and yanked him out of the way of the water.

Hiccup glanced up at his saviour. Shineterror looked back down at him in affection. He had icicles stuck to his right side, but he didn't care. All he cared was that he rescued the human who had freed his mate.

"Thank you, bud," Hiccup said. Shineterror replied him with a croon. He flung Hiccup up and dipped his head so that Hiccup could land safely on his neck. Hiccup brushed off the ice that had formed on his dragon scale armour.

"All right," he said to himself, a tone of resignation and sadness in his voice. "I guess talking nicely wouldn't work." He glanced back at the Bewilderbeast with sad eyes. Such a majestic dragon. Powerful… strong…

And completely evil. Hiccup strongly wanted to believe otherwise, but it seemed that the dragon was not a good dragon. _Just like the Red Death,_ he thought, trying to reassure himself. The enraged Bewilderbeast had turned around and began chasing the duo as they flew away from the island. Hiccup evaluated his options as Shineterror flew away from the island. _He doesn't have explosive gases like the Red Death, and his skin is basically impenetrable. The only way in is through the mouth… _Suddenly, as though a light was lit up in his brain, an idea popped up in his head. It could work, and it could prevent the death of the Bewilderbeast too.

"Smoke!" Hiccup shouted at Shineterror. The Rebel obliged, and immediately he began to spew thick smoke out of his mouth. In a matter of seconds, the duo were completely covered in thick grey smoke. They flew around the Bewilderbeast, encompassing his head in smoke as well.

The Bewilderbeast looked around desperately, trying to find his target. He puffed cold mist around him in an attempt to clear the smoke, but it was too thick. Hoping that his victims were still in the smoke, he fired a few blind shots randomly, but he didn't hear anything that indicated that he hit them.

Little did the alpha know, Hiccup and Shineterror had already flown out of the large cloud of smoke. He flew straight to where Drago was lying down unconscious. Thankfully, Krizzen was too busy fending off the two shieldmaidens to notice him. He quickly prised the keys to the cages from Drago's hand and directed Shineterror straight to a particular cage that was further away from all the action. He hoped that Drago and Krizzen hadn't had time to unlock that cage yet, and fortunately they hadn't. Taking a quick glance back at the Bewilderbeast, he saw that the smoke was beginning to clear. He knew he had very little time to work with, and so he jumped off Shineterror even though the ground was still a few meters away. Rolling when he landed, he sprinted towards a small rocky overhang where a larger cage lay. And inside the cage was the dragon that he was searching for.

The Skrill.

Hiccup ran over to the cage and made quick work of the lock. The clanging of the dragon-proof lock on the rocky ground alerted the mind-controlled Skrill, who quickly spun around to face Hiccup with his pupils narrowed into slits. Yanking open the door, Hiccup turned on his heels and jumped back onto a hovering Shineterror. As they flew off, Hiccup noticed that the smoke had cleared and the Bewilderbeast was looking for them.

"Let's do this, bud," Hiccup said to Shineterror. The dragon roared loudly, alerting the Bewilderbeast. Hiccup watched as the Bewilderbeast began to prepare to fire at him, but he remained calm. He glanced behind him, and he saw that the Skrill had left its cage and was chasing after them, all the while charging a powerful electric shot in his mouth.

"Hang tight, Shineterror," Hiccup whispered to the Rebel as he continued to eye both dragons; the Bewilderbeast on his right and the Skrill behind him. He kept watching the two of them, waiting for the right moment. Timing was everything, and he had to make sure it was perfect for this to work…

"Now!" Hiccup shouted. Shineterror immediately halted and spun around to face the Skrill. He fired a weak blast of fire that the Skrill avoided with exceptional ease.

Having been attacked, the Skrill fired back at the stationary Rebel. But the Bewilderbeast, noticing that the Rebel had stopped too, took the chance to fire an icy blast of water at the Rebel. Hiccup pulled hard on the Rebel's neck, and he flew upwards quickly, avoiding both shots.

As they flew up, Hiccup looked back down at where they were hovering for a split second. The Skrill's powerful electric shot met the ice cold water blast of the Bewilderbeast, which caused strong electric currents to run back along the water stream.

Straight into the Bewilderbeast's mouth.

The shock from the electric current caused the alpha to stop spewing water, and he lurched backwards violently as the force from the electricity sent him flying backwards. The top half of his massive body emerged from the water briefly before his entire body, head and all, crashed into the sea. Huge waves of water that slowly grew larger and reached at least ten meters in height moved rapidly in all directions, crashing against the nearest shoreline and dislodging a few rocks and pebbles which fell into the sea. The fleet in the water held on for dear life as the waves caused their ships to lurch back and forth violently. The splash from the giant dragon landing in the water sent water flying everywhere, and droplets of water rained down on the dragon riders in the air that were fending off the hypnotised dragons, the Berkians fighting off the soldiers at the north, and the warriors on the land fighting Krizzen.

When they heard the deafening splash, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face the source of the sound. Eret and the teenagers halted in their run towards the south and looked at the sight in front of them. Krizzen stopped glaring at the shieldmaidens and began to focus on the sight behind them. Astrid and Heather turned to look behind them too, axes still raised in an offensive position. The dragon riders stopped fending off the dragons, who had also stopped attacking and hovered in mid air instead. Even Valka paused momentarily from treating Viggo when she saw the silhouettes of water being sent flying in all directions on the horizon against the orange-red sunset.

Hiccup paused there dumbfoundedly while Shineterror hovered at his spot. He watched as the water rose up high and the large ripples moved in all directions. He watched as the water slowly but surely calmed down, and eventually stopped moving. He watched as the white froth from the turbulent movements in the sea began to dissipate and spread out, until the sea became a uniform blue colour again. He watched the sea dumbfoundedly, until a roar from Shineterror snapped him out of it.

"Yeah, let's move," Hiccup said absentmindedly to the Rebel, still somewhat stunned from what had happened. _Have I really done it? Is it really over_?

As they landed on the island, Shineterror lowered his head and Hiccup dismounted onto the rocky ground. He followed his momentum and ran forward a few steps before coming to a stop and turning around. Shineterror looked at him with his head tilted to one side and grateful eyes. Suddenly, Shineterror bowed his head to Hiccup. Hiccup was speechless, partially from the fact that no one had bowed down to him before, and partially from the shock that a dragon bowed down to him. _A dragon bowed down to me! Why?_

He heard the flapping of wings all around him, and he looked up at the sky. When he saw the sight around him, he let out a gasp of shock. His eyes widened in surprise, and his mouth hung open.

All the dragons were landing around him, and when they touched down, they dipped their heads towards him and stretched out their wings. They were all bowing to him. _They were bowing to me! Why-oh_. He realised why.

He defeated the alpha. And in the dragon world, that only meant one thing.

He was _the alpha_.

Hiccup was _the alpha_.


	23. Chapter 23: The Final Showdown, Part 6

Chapter 23: The Final Showdown, Part 6

_Was that even possible?_

_A human as the alpha?_

Those were the thoughts running through Hiccup's mind and the minds of all the dragon riders as they watched the dragons bow down to the Berkian chief. Time seemed to freeze for a moment there. No one really seemed to believe their eyes, yet the evidence lay right in front of their eyes. The dragons were really, _really_ bowing down to Hiccup.

Everyone was so captivated on the sight that they failed to notice Rallen running up to Krizzen and whispering something in his ear. Krizzen sheathed his sword and reaching behind his back, he pulled out Mjolnir. They both took a quick glance at it, before they nodded at each other in understanding. Krizzen placed the horn at his mouth, and he was about to blow-

"Hey!" A shout from behind them caused Krizzen and Rallen to turn around. They just managed to pull out their swords before the strong strikes from Eret and Smitelout came crashing down on their metallic blades. Sparks flew as they parried, and the force sent both sides backwards a little. The loud clanging of metal on metal drew the attention of all the fighters, and they turned to look at the source of the sound.

Krizzen and Rallen were locked in a fierce battle with Eret and Smitelout, with Zephyr and Nuffink about to join in too. Astrid and Heather let out a battlecry and began to charge at the two villains, axes raised above their heads. Krizzen and Rallen briefly turned their heads to look at the two women charging at them before they had to parry another strike from their aggressors. But instead of placing their weight into the block, they quickly took a step to the side, causing Eret and Smitelout to fall on the ground right in the path of Astrid and Heather, who had to stop their charge as the two males rolled out of the way.

As Zephyr and Nuffink charged in with their weapons raised, Rallen pushed Krizzen off to his side. Understanding what Rallen was doing, Krizzen bolted down the path towards the tunnels with Mjolnir in one hand and his sword in another. Nuffink moved to stop him, but a swing from Rallen's sword stopped him in his tracks. Nuffink fell backwards and his sword dropped out of his hand, the hard ground sending a shock up his spine. He looked up from his momentary shock, and he saw Zephyr fending off Rallen. He saw his sword on the ground by his side, and moving his right hand over the sword, he gripped it and stood up.

But his hand failed to grip the sword. Confused, he took a glance at his hand. When he saw the reason though, fear gripped him, and suddenly pain shot up along the entire length of his arm.

Because along the length of his right arm was a deep gash, which was especially deep at his forearm. Blood was gushing from the wound, staining his clothes a crimson red and dripping onto the rocky floor. He knew that injuries were a part of Viking life, but he had never suffered such a bad injury before, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake off the fear, and he remained rooted to the spot.

Astrid was charging towards Rallen when she spotted her son frozen at the corner of her eye. She glanced to her side, and when she saw the blood streaming out of his arm, her motherly instincts took over.

"Nuffink!" She exclaimed as she dashed to his side. Dropping her axe, she dropped onto a knee and began to examine the wound. The gash was deep, but the forearm was the worst. Astrid winced at the sight of his bone. Shaking off her initial shock, she began to work on the wound. She looked around desperately for a piece of fabric, and began to bandage the wound.

Meanwhile, Heather had joined Zephyr in fighting Rallen, but his fighting skills were simply on another level. He never really fought back, he just kept dodging and blocking attacks. But whenever one of them tried to run past, he would suddenly lunge forward and attack hard enough to prevent them from getting past him. Thankfully, Eret and Smitelout had gotten up, and they were beginning to join in the fight. But the narrow pathway prevented any of them from getting past easily, and Hiccup knew it would be a while before any of them would be able to begin to chase after Krizzen.

As he looked around, he saw a way to get past Rallen. "Shineterror, let's go," he called to the Rebel beside him. The dragon dipped his head and Hiccup quickly mounted. He was about to take off when the voice of Fishlegs interrupted him.

"What do we do, Hiccup?"

"Yeah, he still has the stupid horn, so we can't chase him on our dragons," Snotlout added.

Hiccup thought for a moment. It was true, he did have Mjolnir. And if he controlled the dragons, it could very easily end up like the battle at the Hidden World; over in a matter of minutes. Then, he decided to do something he had never done before. Or rather something that he had never wanted to do willingly before.

"Cage the dragons."

"I'm sorry, what!?" Snotlout asked incredulously.

"Cage them."

Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff stared at him dumbly for a while. Their dragon loving leader, the one that worked so hard to free dragons, was asking them to _cage the dragons_?

"Oh don't worry about it, Hiccup," Snotlout said. "We just spent all this time freeing them, all our effort, and now you're telling us to _cage them up?"_ He raised his hands incredulously as he said the last three words.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Hiccup?" Tuff asked, placing his hands on his hips and narrowing his eyes at Hiccup.

"If Krizzen has Mjolnir, we can't let the dragons roam around," Hiccup explained with a sigh. "We'll lose in a matter of minutes again."

The dragon riders didn't quite like the explanation, but nonetheless they set out to do what they were tasked to do. "Alright guys, you heard your alpha, move your stupid butts," Snotlout said, waving his arms at the dragons. The Nightmare he was talking to huffed in his face, setting the top of his helmet on fire. Snotlout let out a high-pitched yelp before rolling on the ground to extinguish the fire. "Not cool!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at the ground for effect. The Nightmare chuckled, and began to move to the cages.

Having told them what to do, he tapped Shineterror on the head. The dragon pointed his head forward, and took off. Hiccup guided him to fly beside Rallen.

"Heather," he called. "Hop on, we're going after Krizzen." Heather turned to look at Hiccup hovering off the side of the island. With a final strike towards Rallen, she retreated a little and hopped off the side of the island and onto the grey dragon.

"Don't let him come after us. Tie him and Drago up if you can," Hiccup told the people fighting Rallen. They nodded briefly and continued their fight. "Astrid, take care of Nuffink." It pained him to leave his son injured like this, but he knew Astrid had it covered. Without another word, he flew off after Krizzen.

They flew around the west side of the island, the bright orange sun on their right providing an orange glow on the island. Dark clouds loomed overhead, and a cold gusty wind created the impression that it was about to rain very soon. But their minds were fully focused on the task at hand; finding Krizzen and stopping him. Before long, they found themselves in front of the tunnels. Hiccup directed Shineterror to land in front of the wooden door. They dismounted and began to examine the ground. A couple of faint muddy footsteps could be seen running into the tunnels.

"Stay here Shineterror," Hiccup said to the Rebel, knowing that he was too big to fit through the small tunnels. Hiccup and Heather sprinted into the tunnels, the dim torches that hung from the walls illuminating their path as they ran. They followed the curves in the tunnels until they reached a junction. Hiccup bent down to look at the ground, but the dim light prevented him from finding any footprints. Without any information, he had to guess where Krizzen could possibly be. After a few seconds, he narrowed it down to two possibilities.

"Heather, go that way," he said, pointing to his right with his finger. "Krizzen's office is that way. I'll go to the left where the Rebels' mates were caged." Heather nodded, and the duo set off on their separate ways.

Hiccup ran down the rocky tunnels, his footsteps echoing in the dim light. He took the turns he remembered, and finally, he burst open into the gigantic cavern where he had freed the mates a few hours ago. He looked around the place quickly, trying to find his target.

And find him he did. Krizzen was busy fumbling with the lock on the dragon-proof bars that separated the cavern from the little room where Rallen had stood and escaped from last time.

Hiccup unsheathed Inferno and lit it. Krizzen was completely oblivious to his presence. He snuck forward, staying as silent as possible. Mjolnir was hanging from Krizzen's belt, and Hiccup knew that if he stayed silent enough he could grab it before Krizzen even noticed. He kept creeping forward, digging his one real heel into the ground and placing his prosthetic heel gently on the rocky ground first before making a step. He slowly advanced, keeping an eye on Krizzen the whole time in case he suddenly turned around. After a few anxious seconds that felt like minutes, he stopped directly behind Krizzen. Reaching his right hand over to the left side of Krizzen, he gently placed his hand on the horn, and with one swift motion, he pulled it off his belt.

Krizzen, completely caught off guard by this, whirled around in shock. His wide eyes fell on the empty place where Mjolnir should be, and then he looked up. When he saw the person who took this, he relaxed a little, and a grin crept onto his face.

"Hiccup, what a surprise," Krizzen said.

"Hello to you too," Hiccup replied, raising his visor.

"Have you finally decided to join me in conquering the world?" Krizzen asked jokingly.

"Yeah, because fighting you _totally_ shows that I would like to join you," Hiccup retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Krizzen chuckled, and to Hiccup's surprise it sounded like a very genuine chuckle, as though they were good friends who were simply having a fun conversation.

"You know, I really hate having to fight you," Krizzen admitted. "I think we have quite a lot in common."

"Except for taking over the world," Hiccup said.

"Except for taking over the world, yes," Krizzen quickly repeated, nodding his head slightly. "We both want peace, that's for sure, but our ways of getting it are quite different."

"Yours is quite a violent way," Hiccup said.

"Yeah, that's true," Krizzen said, chuckling genuinely again. "But desperate times, desperate measures. I'm desperate for all the wars to end, and so I'm taking these desperate measures."

"You don't need to do all this fighting," Hiccup said, his voice softening. "Berk has had peace for the last twenty years. When we finally decided to let the dragons return to the Hidden World, we finally enjoyed peace from both dragons and other tribes. You can join us and live in peace too."

"And leave the rest of the world to fight?" Krizzen retorted. "You've had peace, no qualms about that. But have you considered the broader perspective?"

That question shocked Hiccup. It was true to a certain extent. He had never thought beyond the archipelago. All he had cared about was Berk, and to be fair, there was nothing wrong. After all, he was their chief, and a chief protects his own… but could he have compromised other places in doing so?

"Wars rage on around the world, Hiccup," Krizzen continued. "The Spanish are slowly going beyond Europe, China's in a state of turmoil. I could go on forever."

"How could you possibly end all wars?" Hiccup asked.

"By conquering the world," Krizzen replied flatly. "With one ruler, there will be no more fighting between rulers. Sure, there will always be the rebellious few, but they will be eliminated quickly."

"So your plan is to end all wars by starting a massive war…" Hiccup noticed.

"The war to end all wars," Krizzen said.

Hiccup paused for a moment to think. "I'm sorry Krizzen. Your cause, as noble as it is, is just so flawed. How could you possibly think of killing so many people to achieve peace? How does that seem right in any way?" Hiccup's harsh tone began to surface again.

"A small suffering for a bigger reward," Krizzen said.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you with that," Hiccup replied.

"Think about it Hiccup," Krizzen continued, ignoring whatever Hiccup replied. "I'm not doing anything evil here. It's just a little bit of suffering first, and then everyone gets a much better life. Look at your Night Fury! He died, and now you're the alpha."

When Krizzen mentioned Toothless, Hiccup's face darkened. Anger surged in his emerald green eyes, and his mouth curled into a snarl. "Don't _ever_ mention Toothless in this manner again," he growled.

"Admit it, I'm right," Krizzen challenged, his evil grin returning onto his face.

"No!" Hiccup yelled, glaring straight at Krizzen.

"I'm right!" Krizzen yelled back, challenging his glare with one of his own.

"No, you're not!"

"I am!"

Hiccup closed his eyes. He clenched his hand around his sword and Mjolnir tightly. Finally, unable to suppress his anger any more, he charged at Krizzen with a battlecry. His green eyes oozed hatred, and his face screamed revenge. Not just for himself, not just for Toothless, but for Berk. For everyone who had lost someone. For all the needless suffering that they had had the last few weeks.

Krizzen, fully expecting this response, drew his sword and parried Hiccup's attack without flinching. Hiccup rained blow after blow, his hatred for the man standing in front of him growing bigger every second. How dare he talk about his evil agenda in such a noble way? How dare he say that he wasn't doing anything evil? How dare he talk about Toothless like this? How _dare _he? Surged on by adrenaline, he kept up his relentless assault, his strong sword strikes landing heavily against Krizzen. Although he was able to keep up with Hiccup and parry all his attacks, he was visibly tiring; the sheer force of Hiccup's attacks leaving him panting after every block. He kept backing off as he parried the shots, his focused eyes never once leaving the deadly fiery weapon that rained down strikes on his weary arms.

But eventually, fatigue bested him, and he was unable to hold on to his sword any longer as yet another powerful strike caused his sword to fly out of his left hand and send him jerking towards his left. He backed off a little from the furious Hiccup, who now stood menacingly ahead of him, a lit sword in his left hand and Mjolnir in his right.

"You think you can just waltz into our peaceful lives and cause so much death and destruction, and then say that you do it for peaceful means?" Hiccup snarled as he slowly walked closer to an unarmed Krizzen. "You think this is a small suffering? Families torn apart, mothers and fathers never returning to their orphaned sons and daughters. Friends never seeing each other again. You call this a _small_ suffering? How dare you. How _dare _you!"

Krizzen slowly backed up further as Hiccup advanced, taking occasional glances at the floor, probably to prevent himself from tripping. Finally, he stopped retreating and stood straight up, a smug smile appearing on his face.

Hiccup stopped advancing as well, standing just about five meters from him. Near enough for him to charge on a moment's notice, but far enough to prevent Krizzen from doing anything to him. Besides, Krizzen was unarmed, and he didn't have a chance to grab his weapon. Hiccup knew he had crossed past his weapon some time back, and it lay harmless behind him.

"I dare, because I know. I know it'll work. It's a small price to pay compared to the greater good.

"Tell me Hiccup," Krizzen continued, bending down to pick up a small rock from the ground. He twirled it in his left hand, as if inspecting the rock. He looked back up at Hiccup, a cheeky grin appearing on his face. "Don't you think Toothless' death is a small price in return from the good you can do from being the alpha?"

Hiccup let out a low growl from the back of his throat. He leaned forward aggressively, his eyes filled with hate and anger. His lips curled into a snarl. But Krizzen kept smiling smugly. "You can do so much more than your stupid Night Fury! You can command them to stay in the Hidden World forever, or get them to attack in a much more organised fashion. After all, your brain is much smarter than that of your reptile."

"Don't you _dare _talk about Toothless in that manner," Hiccup warned.

"Why not?" Krizzen challenged. Hiccup merely snarled and leaned forward further. He kept his anger in check, because as much as he hated Krizzen, he didn't want to kill him in cold blood. But the way he was talking about Toothless… he wasn't so sure about that last part any more.

"I know why," Krizzen continued, completely ignoring Hiccup's anger. He watched as Hiccup became more and more furious. If looks could kill, Krizzen would've been dead already, and his soul would probably be killed again in Valhalla. But he actually enjoyed watching Hiccup get angry. It was all part of his plan. "Because…

"Because you know I'm right."

That did it. Unable to suppress his anger any more, Hiccup let out a shriek of pure hatred and rage, and charged at Krizzen, his usually warm emerald green eyes filled with murderous intent. He ran forward, sword raised high above his head. Krizzen waited for a split second for his left hand to raise his sword… and then he pounced. In one swift move, he flung the rock in his hand towards Hiccup's face, straight at his open visor. Hiccup's eyes widened in shock a little, but he reacted quickly. Being left handed, he used his left hand to push the incoming rock away from his face.

Big mistake.

In the split second where his hand obscured his vision, Krizzen charged forward and gripped Hiccup's left hand with both hands. Hiccup was still taken aback as Krizzen yanked his hand behind his back with all his might. When he tried to turn to fight back, he felt a boot kick the back of his knee, and he collapsed onto one knee. But Krizzen wasn't done yet. He leaned forward on Hiccup and twisted his arm upwards in a very awkward position, causing Hiccup to fall face first on the floor and release his sword. He dropped Mjolnir and used his right hand to cushion his fall, but with Krizzen's full weight on his back, it did little. Thankfully he had his helmet to take most of the impact. But the fact of the matter remained.

Krizzen had managed to overpower him within a couple of seconds. His speed and smart underhand tactics was just too much for Hiccup to handle. Now he lay helpless on the floor, his left arm twisted upwards painfully and his entire body lying flat on the floor with Krizzen forcing him to the floor with one knee. He tried pushing himself up with his right hand, but Krizzen merely jabbed his knee deeper into his spine, sending sharp pains up his back. It took all his concentration to prevent himself from yelping in pain.

"Of all the opponents I've faced, you're the toughest," Krizzen began. "And you've definitely put a big dent in my plans by killing the Bewilderbeast. But no matter, now that I have you here…" He leaned in close to Hiccup's ear, so close that Hiccup could feel his breath on his face. Hiccup was deeply uncomfortable with this, but all his struggles to try and get Krizzen to release him failed.

"You will pay."

Krizzen moved his head back up and placed his right hand on his left forearm, and his left hand just above his elbow. Suddenly, with one deft movement, Hiccup felt Krizzen jerk both his hands upwards, forcing his arm upwards until a loud pop met his ears. Searing pain jolted through his entire body from his left shoulder, and he let out a loud cry of pain. He knew that his shoulder was only dislocated, but it felt like a Changewing had just sprayed its acid all over it.

Krizzen smirked when he saw his greatest foe in so much pain. He moved his knee over Hiccup's dislocated shoulder, and he began to press down. Hiccup screamed in pain when Krizzen placed all his weight on his shoulder, and Krizzen's grin grew even wider.

"No matter what you do, I will always come out on top," Krizzen taunted. He kept pressing for a few more seconds, and finally deciding that he had better things to do, he released his hold on his shoulder. Hiccup stopped screaming, but he continued to let out soft grunts.

Krizzen got up and picked up his sword. Inspecting its gleam for a moment, he turned back around and returned to Hiccup. Hiccup had rolled onto his back, clutching his left shoulder with his right hand. But when he saw Krizzen approaching with his sword in his hand, his eyes widened in fright, and he turned back around and began to crawl away on his knees and his right hand.

Krizzen kept walking towards the crawling Hiccup, and caught up to him in a matter of seconds. _So helpless… so useless…_ _but he's still trying to run… how cute. _He swung his right leg at Hiccup's left knee, causing his knee to swing up and off the ground. Off balanced, Hiccup tumbled onto his side and landed on his bad shoulder. He let out a muffled groan of pain as he rolled onto his side.

Krizzen stood over him, delight on his face. How he loved watching Hiccup suffer. This man has caused him so much trouble, and he hated him for that. All he had to do was to drop his sword on him and it'll all be over. But Hiccup being Hiccup, he did not give in so easily. He kicked out as he lay on the ground, catching Krizzen in his shin with his metal prosthetic. Krizzen cursed and instinctively crouched down and clutched his shin with both hands as Hiccup quickly got to his feet. Sure, his left arm might be in pain, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Wow," Krizzen said as he stood back up, a touch of genuinity in his voice. "I'm impressed. A dislocated shoulder and you're still willing to fight. Tell you what," he raised both his fists to his face. He moved his right leg behind his left and he stood in an onguard position. "I don't normally care for fair fights, but since you've been an impressive opponent, I'll do this one time." Krizzen stood with the poise of a skilled martial artist; feet placed slightly apart from each other, gravity perfectly centered. With his left hand, he curled his fingers towards himself and challenged Hiccup. "Bring it on, Hiccup."

Hiccup glared at the taunting Krizzen. His smug smile and his cheery eyes caused even more rage to build up within Hiccup. Nothing would please him more than to charge straight at him and rain down punches and kicks on him. But with a dislocated shoulder, he knew how impossible it would be to win. So he opted for a more defensive strategy, circling Krizzen slowly with his right hand raised in front of him. By now, the pain in his shoulder had subsided a little, and he could put his shoulder back in place if he wanted to, but that would mean letting his guard down, and he knew that Krizzen would take that chance to strike. Instead, he kept his left fist raised as a protective measure.

As the duo circled each other, they slowly drew nearer to each other. They kept their fists close to their face, guarding their precious body from any quick strikes. The tension in the air could be split with a knife. They stayed on alert, ready to react the moment either side decided to attack.

Eventually, Krizzen struck first. He jabbed and crossed with both his hands, and Hiccup quickly moved backwards to avoid both hits. But Krizzen was relentless. He kept throwing quick punches at Hiccup's direction, all the while making sure his other hand covered his face to prevent any counter attack from Hiccup. Hiccup kept dodging, moving his head to the side slightly to prevent himself from getting hit. He decided against using his arms to block, partially because his left arm was still sore, and partially because the sheer speed that Krizzen attacked at could leave him vulnerable.

Krizzen jumped after throwing another punch, and spun mid-air. He swung a fast right leg at Hiccup's face, and Hiccup stumbled backwards due to the sheer surprise and speed in his attack. But the moment Krizzen's right leg touched the ground, he spun again, using his right leg as a pivot and swinging his left leg around. The heel of his left leg caught a stumbling Hiccup square in his left shoulder.

Sharp pain coursed through his body. His vision blackened for a split second as the pain flowed through his body, and he bit his lip to prevent himself from crying out. His right hand instinctively went to his shoulder. But Hiccup regained his senses quickly. Knowing his vulnerable state, he rushed backwards, stumbling as he tried to stay on his feet. Although he moved backwards quickly, he somehow managed to stay upright, clutching his injured shoulder.

Krizzen watched with glee as his powerful kick sent pain flowing through Hiccup. As Hiccup steadied himself, he prepared himself again, raising both his fists to his face and charging forward. Meaning to catch Hiccup off guard, he swung wildly at Hiccup. But Hiccup was alert, and he ducked under the punch easily. As he ducked, he threw a punch at Krizzen's stomach, knocking the wind out of the man. As Krizzen stumbled backwards, Hiccup swung his prosthetic leg at Krizzen's ribs, catching the man in his ribcage and causing him to fall to the floor, winded and bruised.

Krizzen took a second to recover, and then he looked up at Hiccup with murderous eyes and an insane smile. He kicked both his feet upwards, creating enough momentum to allow him to jump back onto his feet. He readied his fists again, and prepared to fight.

"I'm enjoying this, Hiccup," Krizzen said.

"Well I'm not," Hiccup replied flatly.

"Seriously?" Krizzen retorted. "I'm just trying to have a bit of fun amidst all this."

"Yeah, because a day of fun and games was what I was thinking of when I brought everyone here to fight you," Hiccup said sarcastically.

"Very well then," Krizzen said, his tone becoming flat. "If you don't want to enjoy the process of battle, I can make this very quick."

The moment he said that, he lunged forward and jumped into the air, spinning as he jumped. Hiccup ducked under the first kick, but Krizzen swung his other leg around before he landed. Caught off guard, the second kick hit the side of Hiccup's helmet, sending his helmet flying off his head. He turned as he fell, landing on his belly instead of his side. There was a little bit of blood trickling from the edge of his mouth; something from his helmet probably caught his mouth.

But the moment he landed on his belly, he heard a sickening crack sound, and immediately white-hot pain began to flow up his right leg. Pain was nothing new to him, but the sudden intensity of this pain caused him to let out a gut-wrenching scream that echoed around the cavern.

Krizzen stepped off Hiccup's leg, allowing him to roll onto his side and move it up to his chest as he clutched it. He smiled as he watched Hiccup's eyes widen in horror when he saw the state of his leg.

Krizzen had jumped onto his shin with both his feet, and Hiccup's shin had completely snapped under Krizzen's weight. In fact, there was a bend at where his leg was supposed to be straight. Hiccup's face displayed many different emotions all at once. Shock, horror, fear, there were so many that Krizzen couldn't place all of them. But there was one thing he knew: his greatest enemy was helpless.

Krizzen strolled over to his sword and picked it up. He walked back to Hiccup who still clutched his leg in horror. Pausing a meter away from Hiccup, he spoke to the poor man on the ground.

"You have a lot of fight in you," Krizzen began, but he was interrupted by Hiccup suddenly swinging his left leg towards Krizzen's left. He reacted quickly, dropping his sword and catching his prosthetic with both hands. He stumbled to his right a little, but he remained upright. With one harsh pull, he ripped the prosthetic off Hiccup's stump. Between a broken leg, a stump, and a dislocated shoulder, there wasn't much Hiccup could do to try and move; let alone fight back against Krizzen.

Krizzen glared at the Berkian chief, who, despite all his pain, was returning his glare with an equally intense glare of his own as he lay on his back on the ground. The two of them locked eyes for a while, both of them feeling anger towards each other for their own reasons. The only difference was that one was able to move around, and the other was… well, stuck. Suddenly, Krizzen took a step forward, and gripping Hiccup's prosthetic by the wooden part, he let out a loud battlecry and swung the metallic part at Hiccup's face with all his might. Hiccup saw Krizzen move to strike, and he raised his arm to block it. He did so successfully, but he forgot that his shoulder was dislocated. As the metal prosthetic struck his arm, he let out a hiss of pain as the shock moved his shoulder around. But in his brief loss of concentration, Krizzen swung a strong backhand, and this time it struck Hiccup squarely on his face. The metal leg cut into his skin and drew a long gash on his left cheek, and Hiccup's head was tossed to the side. He didn't have any time to recover though. Krizzen kept up his relentless assault, throwing forehands and backhands one after another with loud cries of anger and frustration. The metal prosthetic kept striking and tearing Hiccup's face, creating cuts and deep gashes all along his cheeks and his forehead. Blood and spit flew out of his mouth as the force of each strike sent his head flying in the opposite direction. Each time he tried to raise an arm to block the attack another one would have hit his face, and the pain surging through his face would cause him to drop anything he was trying.

Slowly, he was beginning to lose consciousness. Everything began to feel dull, even the strikes weren't causing as much pain as they were. The loud cracks that rang through his ears every time his metal prosthetic struck and probably broke the bones in his face became muffled and duller. His vision blurred, and everything began to spin. But just as he thought he would pass out, Krizzen stopped his brutal assault.

Panting heavily, Krizzen stopped and took a good look at his victim. His entire face was stained a dark crimson, covered in cuts and deep gashes. Blood was flowing out of his nose and mouth, and his eyes had dark black bruises around it. His right eye was barely open due to the swelling. He could tell that Hiccup was barely conscious due to his minute eye movements. As he watched a few more drops of blood flow down his auburn beard and drip onto the cold stone floor, he threw Hiccup's prosthetic to one side, and walked over to his sword and picked it up.

"You know Hiccup," Krizzen said as he walked back towards Hiccup and stood over him ominously. "You've put up a good fight. I commend you for your noble efforts…

"But it ends here."

With that, he raised his sword high above his head with both hands, the sharp tip of the sword pointing downwards. Hiccup looked at the sword with trepidation through his blurred and dazed vision. He so desperately wanted to move away, wanted to fight back, but not a single part of his body seemed to respond. He drew in a deep breath, and waited for the final blow that would end it all…

_CLANG!_

The shrill sound of metal striking against metal rang out, but in his dazed state Hiccup barely registered it. Krizzen was looking behind him with a shocked look, and when Hiccup slowly turned to look at where he was looking, he saw his sword lying on the ground behind him, with an axe that he recognised further behind. In fact, he had helped make that axe…

"Stay away from him!" Astrid's voice rang out from the entrance of the cavern. Hiccup looked at her, and he saw her charging towards Krizzen with a gleam in her eyes. Krizzen backed off as she picked Inferno off the ground, palms outstretched in front of him.

"Don't worry, he's all yours," Krizzen said. Astrid charged towards Krizzen, but he merely gave a smirk and ran off towards the small room that Rallen was in. She made to run after him, but as she passed her husband, the dark crimson stains all over his face shocked her. She paused in her tracks and turned to look at Hiccup. But when she saw his beaten and battered state, she let out a loud gasp. She dropped Inferno and kneeled beside him, her eyes softening and concern filling her face.

"Hiccup!" She exclaimed. "What happened to you?"

But Hiccup couldn't respond. Astrid noticed that he seemed to register her words though, because he let out a soft groan and moved his eyes away from her. In fact, he seemed to be looking behind her…

Catching his drift, Astrid jumped back to her feet and turned back around to face Krizzen…

But there was no sign of him.

Or Mjolnir.

The only clue was the open lock on the bars that separated the cavern from the small room.

Astrid ran into the room and looked up the ladder. But all she saw was the trapdoor at the top slamming shut.


	24. Chapter 24: The Final Showdown, Part 7

Chapter 24: The Final Showdown, Part 7

"This is going to hurt, Hiccup," Astrid warned as she removed his dragon-scale vest. Hiccup didn't respond, or more likely he couldn't respond. He was simply too dazed to register what was happening. But he did manage to let out a small groan, which Astrid hoped was in response to what she said and not in pain. Once his vest was off, she held his left shoulder as he lay on his right side, and with one quick twist and push, she pushed his shoulder back into position. Hiccup let out a moan of pain. "Sorry babe."

Just then, Heather burst into the cavern. Upon seeing the former leader of the dragon riders lying on the ground with a fully bloodied face, she let out a gasp of shock. "Hiccup! What happened to you?"

Hiccup slowly turned to look at Heather, but his blank look didn't reassure her one bit. Heather looked to her best friend for answers. "Krizzen got to him. Beat him up with his own prosthetic," she said, pointing to his metal foot. Heather glanced towards it, and saw blood splattered all over the metal leg. In fact, some parts of the metal had bent as well, which fully explained to her how hard Krizzen had hit the poor man. She cringed at the sight of the gruesome weapon.

"Heather, there's no time to waste," Astrid said. "We need to bandage Hiccup up and Krizzen's getting away. Help me grab Hiccup's armour and leg. We're taking him out." Heather nodded and ran over to grab his vest and helmet, and his battered prosthetic. As she grabbed his items, she spotted his saddlebag on the ground, dropped when he was fighting the Rebels earlier she figured. Meanwhile, Astrid grabbed Hiccup's right hand and lifting him up quickly, she slung him over her shoulder. Hiccup let out another moan when his stomach landed on Astrid's shoulder. Gripping Hiccup's left thigh to make sure he didn't fall off, she began to run back down the tunnels, taking special care not to touch his stump or his broken shin. Heather followed directly behind her, Hiccup's items slung over her shoulders.

XX

Drago slowly awoke from his unconsciousness, head throbbing like a Gronckle had sat on it. Everything sounded muffled and his senses were still dulled. He felt stiff all over, especially in his arm and legs, as though he hasn't moved in a long time. He moved his legs to stand up, but to his surprise, he realised he couldn't move his legs apart. As his vision cleared, he noticed that his legs were stretched out ahead of him and tied together. He looked down, and he noticed that his body was tied up as well, hands tied up tight by his side.

"Hey look, he's woken up," Drago heard a nasally voice say. Drago turned to look at the voice, and he saw a blond woman with long strands of hair that stretched beyond her waist. She stood beside a man who looked exactly like her, and had his hands crossed in front of him. They were both watching him with curious eyes.

"Drago?" He heard Rallen say from behind him.

"Rallen? Where are you?"

"He's tied up behind you," the male responded. Suddenly, it all came back to him. That black-haired girl had fought him and knocked him out, and then… what happened?

Ruff and Tuff watched as Drago slowly pieced together everything that had happened. He and Rallen were tied up back to back with their arms right by their sides. Their legs were stretched out straight and tied together too. He looked around, as though he was trying to find something.

"Where's the Bewilderbeast?" Drago asked.

"Dead," Rallen replied flatly. "That pesky Hiccup killed it."

Drago let out a growl. "Where's that nuisance now?"

"Chasing Krizzen somewhere around."

"Wrong," Ruff interjected. "He's beating Krizzen up somewhere around."

"Yeah," Tuff added. "Hiccup's probably won."

Drago let out a deep sinister laugh. "That twig wouldn't hold himself in a fight against Krizzen. He's the best fighter I've ever seen."

"Well," Ruff said. "You've never seen Hiccup fight."

"Or has he?" Tuff asked. "They did fight all that time ago…"

"Oh right… Hmm…" Ruff said, putting a hand on her chin. "But did they fight? Like, _fight_ fight?"

"That's a good question, sis," Tuff replied.

As the twins continued their meaningless suppositions, they failed to realise that their captives were slowly freeing themselves. Drago kept moving his left shoulder around, trying to loosen the straps that bound his prosthetic to his shoulder. He kept an eye on the two idiots as he moved around, in case they turned to look at him at some point in their squabble. Eventually, the straps came loose, and he managed to shake his prosthetic off. It slid down to the ground between the ropes and his body, and came to rest on the rocky ground. With his large metallic arm on the ground, the ropes loosened, allowing both captives to move their arms around. Keeping an eye on the twins, who had somehow devolved their pleasant conversation into bickering, Rallen slowly moved his arm out of the ropes, and began to untie the knots. Anxiety in his body, Rallen worked on untying the ropes; the precious seconds that he used to untie the ropes seeming more like minutes.

"Now you're just plain wrong!" Tuff said to his sister, leaning forward slightly and placing his hands on his hips.

"I most definitely am not!" Ruff replied, returning his aggressive pose with one of her own.

"You know what," Tuff said. "They're both here. Let's just ask them whether Hiccup fought _both_ of them or not."

"Sure," Ruff replied. "Then you'll know that I'm right and you're wrong."

The Thorston twins nodded at each other determinedly, and they walked towards Drago and Rallen, not breaking eye contact for their first few steps. As they turned to face their captives however, they raised their hands instinctively as the cold edge of a sword pressed against both their throats. They gulped in fear and nervousness, and raised their eyes to meet an angry and fierce Rallen and one-armed Drago.

"You both are idiots," Drago spat as he scowled at them.

XX

"Hang in there Hiccup," Astrid said to Hiccup, but she wondered if that was more for herself or for her injured husband. She was worried, and she wouldn't deny that. The mere fact that he was still conscious was a miracle. Given the state that he was in, Astrid couldn't help but wonder if it would be better off if he fell unconscious at some point.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she focused on the task at hand. Getting Hiccup out of there and then taking care of him.

The open wooden door was right ahead of her, and she ran through it into the open air, with Heather closely behind her. A light drizzle had begun, filling their ears with the sounds of the small raindrops striking the rocky floor. At the same time, the rest of the Berkians came running towards them from the south after they quickly overpowered Rallen. When they saw their chief and leader's battered state, they let out loud gasps of shock.

"Oh Thor, I'm going to be sick," Snotlout muttered, running to the side of the island and retching over the side.

"What happened?" Fishlegs asked, concern etched on his face.

"Krizzen got to him," Astrid said urgently. Cradling Hiccup's head with her right hand, she set him down on the ground gently, his back leaning against a tree. His head drooped the moment Astrid let go of him and blood trickled down his beard and landed on his red tunic.

"Oh dear Thor, what's happened to you," Astrid muttered under her breath concernedly. She stretched a hand towards Heather. Catching her drift, Heather laid down Hiccup's armour beside him and began digging through his saddlebag. From all their adventures on the Edge, she knew that Hiccup always had some medical supplies in there. After a bit of searching, she finally found some clean bandages, a flask of water, and a cloth. She handed it over to Astrid, who grabbed it urgently. Using the flask, she poured water onto his wounds and dabbed up the blood with the cloth. She did this until his face was clean, but blood still oozed out of the deeper cuts.

She suddenly realised that there were quite a few eyes watching her. Spinning around, she saw all the Berkians - minus the Thornton twins who she assigned to guard Drago and Rallen - all watching as she cleaned Hiccup up.

"What are you waiting for?" Astrid asked furiously. "Krizzen's on the loose with Mjolnir. Go get him!"

That seemed to do the trick. They snapped out of their clueless state and sprang into action.

"I know the trapdoor opens up at the north," Eret offered, remembering how Rallen escaped from his clutches.

"Let's go!" Heather said, unsheathing her axe and running towards the north. The other Berkians followed her lead, grabbing their weapons and running after her.

They ran along the rocky ground, their footsteps creating loud thuds against the rocky ground. As they rounded a corner however, they stopped in their tracks. Ahead of them was a whole army of soldiers.

"Didn't we just tie them up?" Smitelout asked.

"Yeah," Zephyr replied. "Which means Krizzen must have untied them."

With a battlecry that her mother would've been proud of, Zephyr charged into battle, axe raised and ready to strike. The others followed her, shouting loudly and raising their weapons high. The soldiers stood their ground, on guard and ready to fight. Loud clangs of metal striking against metal could be heard as the two armies fought each other.

XX

He could see clearly now, but his head still throbbed. He could move, but all his movements were sluggish. He could speak too, but he mumbled a little.

"You should go and help them," Hiccup mumbled to Astrid.

"And leave you here all by yourself? Never." Astrid said, a tone of finality in her voice.

Too weak to argue, Hiccup let her continue administering her aid. She wrapped a bandage around his forehead and his cheeks, which ran around the bridge of his nose. The bandages were stained crimson very quickly though, and Astrid quickly changed it. The gashes were deep, and they would definitely need stitching, but there wasn't a needle around…

"Wow, those idiots were wrong," a deep, scratchy voice sounded from behind the tree. Whipping out her axe, Astrid jumped out from behind the tree in an alert position. She glared menacingly at the two intruders.

Drago and Rallen.

"You know," Rallen began. "If it wasn't for the blood on the ground, my first thought wouldn't be that you're treating Hiccup's wounds. The way you were kneeling behind that tree, and all we could see were your hands moving around frantically, it's almost like you're giving him a-"

"Save it, Rallen," Astrid warned, the fierce look remaining on her face. The sound of the falling rain continued to echo around the place as Rallen chuckled darkly.

"Distractions don't seem to work on you," he commented, drawing his sword. Drago shifted his scythe to his prosthetic hand and using his non-prosthetic right hand, he pulled out a mace.

Astrid frowned harder, and charged towards them. She swung her axe fiercely, and Rallen moved backwards from the force of the hit. The moment she attacked Rallen however, she had to parry Drago's strike from her left. And then Rallen's attack from her right. And then Drago's from her left.

_Think, Astrid, think_… she thought to herself. Suddenly, she had an idea. As Rallen swung his sword again, she went prone on the ground and rolled into Rallen's legs. With her free hand, she gripped his right foot and pulled it into his left, which, thanks to the slippery floor, caused both his feet to slide out from under him, causing him to fall to the floor. As Rallen fell, Drago sidestepped him and swung his mace at Astrid, which she dodged easily. While Drago's hand was still outstretched from the strike, she hit his elbow with the hilt of her axe, causing Drago's hand to open and drop his mace. Astrid looked back up at him with a glare, but there was a triumphant look in her eyes.

But she failed to react fast enough to Drago's scythe attack. The butt of the scythe struck the side of her head, and she fell to the ground. Thankfully, her light blue helmet took the brunt of the impact, and with a quick leap, she was back on her feet.

XX

Hiccup watched as Astrid fended off Drago and Rallen. How he wished he could help, but in his current state he would be more of a burden than a help. He dragged himself to one side of the tree where it was more secluded, grabbing his saddlebag as he went. Reaching for his saddlebag gingerly, he took out a spare prosthetic foot and attached it onto his stump. The damaged one lay by the side of the bag. The rain had washed off a lot of the bloodstains, but the dented form of the metal lay as evidence for the harsh beating that he had endured. Nonetheless, he picked it up and grabbed some rope from his saddlebag. He planned to tie that to the side of his broken leg, maybe it could work as a form of support…

_What was that?_ Movement at the corner of his eye, near the entrance of the tunnels. From where he was, there was a small line of sight to the tunnel entrance. No one would think of looking that way, and even if they did, his body was somewhat obscured by a small bush. He slowly turned his head to look at the tunnels…

Krizzen.

He was sneaking out of the tunnels.

With Mjolnir in his hand.

_How did he get there? He went up the… oh. He can come back down. _Hiccup watched as Krizzen peeked his head around the wooden door to look at the battle between Astrid and Rallen and Drago. He guessed that Krizzen thought Astrid wasn't looking his way, so he dashed out of the tunnels and quickly crouched down behind a pile of rocks. He sneaked another peek over the rocks, and dashed over to hide behind a tree. That's when Hiccup noticed…

_Krizzen's coming in my direction… and he hasn't seen me._

Hiccup pulled his left leg to his chest, and glanced around the other side of the tree. Judging from his current path, he guessed that Krizzen would dash behind another rock, and then a tree, and finally he would cross his path. If he got past him, he would be able to dash down the pathway to the docks, and he wouldn't be in Astrid's line of sight any more.

_I have to stop him._

He searched for a weapon, but he couldn't find anything that'll work, except… He glanced at his right hand. The dented prosthetic. _No other choice, I have to make it work_, he thought to himself. He watched as Krizzen darted from cover to cover. Sure enough, Krizzen took cover exactly where Hiccup expected him to.

_One last bound, and he'll be here… _

_Timing was everything… _

_NOW!_

He flung the prosthetic at Krizzen and limped as fast as he could towards the villain. The prosthetic hit him squarely on the side of his head, and Krizzen slipped from the shock. His leg slid out from under his body, and he jerked violently to his left from the impact. The left side of his head knocked a rock as he fell on the ground, and Krizzen saw stars. He dropped Mjolnir from his grip and clutched the side of his aching head with both his hands as he struggled to remain conscious. The rain fell on Krizzen's head and washed the blood towards the sea. Hiccup winced at the sight of blood flowing from his enemy's head, but he pushed it out of his mind as best as he could.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Krizzen as he picked up Mjolnir and began to limp towards the edge of the island, ready to throw it off the side and end this war for good. With Mjolnir gone, they could free the dragons, and all the dragons - the Rebels included - could go back to the Hidden World safely.

As he slowly limped to the edge of the island, he saw the other Berkians who had headed to the north returning.

"No sign of Krizzen-" Fishlegs began, but he stopped when he saw Mjolnir in Hiccup's hands. "How did you-"

"Don't… don't be sorry," a soft pleading voice mumbled from behind Hiccup, interrupting Fishlegs. Hiccup turned around to face the bleeding and injured Krizzen. He was leaning against the rock he struck and was slowly pulling himself to his feet. When he was standing on his feet, he leaned against the rock for support. Some blood was oozing out of his mouth and his nose.

Krizzen panted heavily, and slowly raised his head to look at Hiccup. "I'm sorry," Krizzen said as a hint of an evil smile appeared on his face. Hiccup glared at him, trying his best to focus on what Krizzen was saying. He was still slightly dazed, but with enough concentration he could focus. "I'm sorry for doing this," Krizzen said, and the full smile appeared on his face. At the same time, Drago and Rallen came into Hiccup's view, and in their clutches…

"Astrid!" Hiccup shouted when he saw his beloved wife in the hands of the enemies. She had a hand painfully wrenched behind her back, and the sharp tip of a sword followed closely behind her, warning her against trying anything stupid.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup," Astrid said. "They worked together too well. One of them would take a hit while the other attacked."

"Yeah," Rallen spat, blood flying out of his mouth and landing on the ground. "Although I seemed to be taking more hits than Drago."

"Doesn't matter," Drago growled. "We have the girl and the twins in our grasp."

"Now you see, Hiccup," Krizzen said in between deep breaths. "A simple trade again. Mjolnir-" he pointed to the horn in Hiccup's hands. "For her life." He gestured towards Astrid. She struggled against Drago's grip, but he simply wrenched her hand higher, causing her to yelp in pain. The Berkians started to run forward towards Hiccup, but a loud shout of warning from Krizzen stopped them in their tracks.

Hiccup let out a deep growl. "How do I know you won't kill her like you did to Toothless?" He demanded

"You stand a better chance of having her alive by returning the horn," Krizzen taunted.

Hiccup growled again. This man had foiled him so many times, and he had threatened so many of their lives. How? How could this happen time and time again? How could he not beat Krizzen at all? Sheer ruthlessness seemed to be winning all the time. The heavy rain didn't do much but add to his anger.

Suddenly, he recalled what Viggo had said to him many years ago. _You're too innocent for your own good, Hiccup, and someday it will get you or someone you love killed. _Viggo had taken him as a hostage to trick Krogan and Johann. But did Viggo do that for evil intentions? No, it was for good intentions. _How can I do something like that too?_ Hiccup thought to himself.

"Time's running out, Hiccup," Krizzen taunted. On cue, Rallen brought his sword up to Astrid's throat and held it threateningly, causing Astrid to grunt. Hiccup glared at Krizzen, but began limping slowly towards him. As he slowly approached the menace to society, he thought hard. How could he beat Krizzen at his own game?

Suddenly, as he walked, his hand brushed against something in his pocket. _Yes, that's exactly what I need! Who knew something the twins made could come in so handy._ Stealthily, he began to place his right hand near his pocket. In time, he would pull it out, and beat Krizzen at his own game.

Eventually, he was near Krizzen, but not near enough to allow Krizzen to harm him. They were two injured people, after all. Hiccup raised Mjolnir up by the mouthpiece by his left hand and held the other end towards Krizzen when he was a few paces away.

"That's it, hand it over like a good boy," Krizzen mocked, stretching out his hand to grab his horn. Hiccup kept walking over to Krizzen. Step by step, he drew nearer, and nearer. Nearer to the time when he would execute his plan too.

He took the last step that placed Mjolnir in Krizzen's reach. The moment Krizzen gripped the end of Mjolnir, Hiccup swiftly reached into his right pocket. Grabbing the item, he yanked his hand out of his pocket and slammed the item against the mouthpiece of the horn. An audible click echoed around the area, stunning everyone.

"Don't. Move." Hiccup warned, glaring directly at Krizzen. He pressed his open palm against the mouthpiece of the horn with the item sandwiched between his hand and the horn. Krizzen held the other end in place, preventing Hiccup from pushing it forward. The sternness in his voice and the seriousness in his tone took Krizzen back for a moment, and he didn't dare to do anything Hiccup didn't tell him to. A tense silence permeated the air, disturbed only by the splattering of the heavy raindrops on the wet ground.

"If you move, you and I will die, and this horn will be disintegrated," Hiccup said sternly. "In my hand is a highly explosive bomb," Hiccup continued to explain. "It contains a mixture of gunpowder, Monstrous Nightmare gel, and Zippleback gas. The button at the top ignites the bomb, but only when it is released. I've depressed the button by placing it against the mouthpiece of this horn. If you move Mjolnir backwards, the button will be released. If you move Mjolnir in any way, the button will be released. But also…

"If you don't do exactly as I say, I will release the bomb."

Krizzen growled. This little runt was holding him ransom. How could his plan to conquer the dragons come so close and yet be ruined by this guy? Twice! He killed the Bewilderbeast, and now he was threatening to destroy Mjolnir. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he kept a firm grip on Mjolnir and spoke to the Berkian chief.

"What do you want?"

"Let Astrid go." Krizzen glanced behind him and nodded to Drago, who immediately released his hold on Astrid. Astrid ran past Hiccup towards the other Berkian warriors, concern etched on her face. As she passed him, Hiccup leaned to her and instructed her in a soft voice.

"Go get your dragons." Astrid nodded, and she regrouped with the other Berkians. She quickly told them their leader's instructions softly, and they all began to run towards the south where the caged dragons were.

Hiccup waited until his team rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Krizzen was looking in their direction too, and when they vanished from his sight, he jerked his head back towards Hiccup.

"Now what? Are you just going to blow us up?" Krizzen asked rudely.

"You don't need to be like this, Krizzen-"

"Wrong!" Krizzen interrupted, shouting at Hiccup. "_You_ don't need to be like this! You didn't need to start this whole war with me. I just wanted the dragons, and I would've left you alone. But _you_ chose to fight me, to stand against me and stop me. Can't you see that I am trying to achieve world peace?"

"It doesn't have to be this way," Hiccup soothed. "You can't achieve peace by starting a war. There will always be people rebelling against you. The only way you can enjoy peace is by ending wars, not starting them."

"Why don't you join me," Krizzen said, his tone much calmer now. "I can show you how it's done."

"No, Krizzen," Hiccup said, his voice calming and assuring. His warm forest green eyes met the angry black eyes of Krizzen. "Let _me_ show you how it's done." He stretched out his free left hand towards Krizzen, his palm open and inviting.

Krizzen was taken aback. Hiccup saw warmth flow into his rage-filled eyes, and uncertainty fill his face. He looked at Hiccup doubtfully. Hiccup's warm emerald eyes seemed to look straight into his soul, and a small smile lit up his face.

"I can show you true peace," Hiccup pressed. "Come and join us on Berk, we can show you true peace."

"Would we be accepted?" Krizzen inquired.

"Eret was a dragon hunter, but he changed," Hiccup added. "You can change too."

Hiccup watched as uncertainty continued to etch itself on Krizzen's eastern face. His eyes displayed a variety of emotions. Fear, confusion, uncertainty, and many other emotions that Hiccup couldn't quite identify. But eventually, his uncertain face resolved into one of determination, but it wasn't in an evil way. A warm smile appeared on his face, and he looked like he had made up his mind.

"Can I put down Mjolnir?" Krizzen asked. Hiccup glanced at the bomb he was still pressing between his palm and the horn. He looked back up and nodded. Using his fingers, he held the button down as Krizzen lowered Mjolnir and dropped it onto the wet ground. It landed in a wet puddle with a splash, and raindrops continued to splatter down onto the ground. Having done that, he looked back at Hiccup with a smile on his face, and stretched his left hand out for Hiccup. Hiccup looked at his hand, and with a smile of his own, he reached for Krizzen's hand with his left hand and shook it.

Within a split second, Krizzen's smile turned into an evil grin, and he yanked Hiccup's arm forward. Having been recently dislocated, the force of the sudden jerk sent violent pains up his shoulder, and Hiccup was too preoccupied with the pain to think about anything else. He lurched forward, and before he knew it, he felt the cold tip of a dagger penetrate his skin and slice along his abdomen. The pain grew sharply, as though a thousand daggers were rapidly stabbed into his stomach one by one. He let out a gasp of shock and pain, and without thinking, he released his grip on the bomb and clutched his middle…

But Krizzen had already grabbed the bomb with his other hand. He sheathed the bloody concealed dagger back into his right wrist guard with a triumphant smile painted on his face. He watched as his greatest nemesis collapsed onto his knees, and then slumped onto his side, all the while clutching his stomach with his right hand and a shocked expression plastered on his face. A pool of blood slowly accumulated beneath where he lay, and very soon a large part of the ground turned a light crimson colour because of the heavy rain. Soft groans of pain emanated from the fallen man, and Krizzen's smile only grew wider when he heard him suffer.

"I always win, Hiccup," Krizzen taunted in a low, scratchy voice. "You can do your best, but I will _always_ win. Your love and friendship thing that you talked to me about? Yak dung. My pragmatic way has gotten me results. My ruthless way has helped me achieve success. What about yours?"

The searing pain from his stomach was excruciating, blocking out everything else. He vaguely registered Krizzen speaking to him, but everything was muffled and sounded like it was underwater. But in spite of his pain, he could see Krizzen spitting on the ground and turning to walk away with Mjolnir. When he saw this, his mind seemed to come alive all of a sudden. A million thoughts ran through his head, shutting out some of the pain.

_If Krizzen gets away, everyone is doomed. They're coming back with dragons, and if he has Mjolnir, he'll take the dragons back easily. I can't let everyone down. I can't fail them yet again. I can't…_

_I can't fail my dad. He sacrificed himself for me; I can't fail him now. I need to stop Krizzen, but… if I stop him this way… I have to do it. There's no other way. _

"Wait." The word was barely audible, but loud enough to catch Krizzen's attention and stop him in his tracks. He took a glance over his shoulder. Despite his injuries, Hiccup was trying to get up. His right hand was clutching his stab wound, and he was using his left hand to push himself up. Krizzen watched as Hiccup slowly struggled to his knees and elbows, and eventually he pushed himself into a kneeling position. He had to admit, Hiccup was one tough person.

"You've… missed… something," Hiccup said as he placed his left leg out and went into a high kneeling position with his right knee on the ground. The pain of these movements felt like acid flowing through his blood, but he gritted his teeth and fought through the pain, knowing that what he was doing was probably the last chance he had.

Krizzen seemed genuinely confused. "What did I miss?"

"The power… of love… and friendship," Hiccup said in between deep breaths. "These things can… can win… beat you…"

Krizzen looked at him with a confused look. Partially understanding what Hiccup was trying to say, he laughed incredulously. "Really? Look at yourself! You're slowly dying. You can barely move around, let alone beat me. What makes you even think that you have any chance at stopping me right now?"

"Because," Hiccup continued. "I'm the chief of Berk…"

_A chief protects his own. _

"I'm the great Dragon Master…"

_I will never let these dragons suffer under you_.

"And because… I'm their friend and leader."

_I love them too much to watch them die. _

Outraged, Krizzen let out a cry of anger and began striding over to Hiccup. _Perfect, _Hiccup thought. "Let me get this straight," Krizzen began in a frustrated tone, pointing an accusing finger at Hiccup. "I am Krizzen the Conqueror. I have invaded many lands and made them fall before me. I have made kings and queens bow down before me, begging me for mercy, begging me to spare their people. I have done all these things without any dragons." Krizzen reached Hiccup and now stood directly in front of him. "My goal of conquering the world would have happened with or without the dragons. These dragons simply make it much faster." He grabbed Hiccup's left shoulder with his right hand and jerked him backwards so that he would be able to glare into his eyes. Hiccup returned his glare with a blank look. "Do you see, Hiccup? Do you see my power? With or without these dragons, I would have conquered the world. _I_ would've achieved my goal regardless. _I_ am inevitable. So let me ask you one more time…

"What makes you think you have any chance of stopping me?"

Hiccup looked straight into Krizzen's eyes. His frustration did not faze him. In fact, he was hoping that this would happen so that Krizzen would come nearer. Unbeknownst to Krizzen, as he continued his tirade, Hiccup was stealthily reaching into his left pocket. As Krizzen took the final step to stand in front of him, his left hand gripped what he was searching for in his pocket, and he pulled it out of his pocket and held it between himself and Krizzen. Seeing Hiccup bring something up, Krizzen's eyes darted down to whatever he was holding. But when he saw what Hiccup was holding, his eyes widened in surprise and horror. His mouth opened slightly in fear.

Because in his left hand, Hiccup was holding another of those bombs. A determined smile crept onto Hiccup's face when he saw Krizzen's reaction. His determined emerald green eyes looked straight into Krizzen's fearful black eyes, as he depressed the button. The button depressed all the way with a loud click sound, and it echoed through Krizzen's ears.

"Because…" Hiccup replied, causing Krizzen to slowly turn his head to face Hiccup.

"_Because I'm Hiccup."_

As he said this, he released the button. In that moment, time seemed to slow down for him. The grinding of metal against metal created an audible click, producing the spark that ignited the highly explosive bomb. Bright orange flames flew out of the small bomb, creating a loud boom that rattled their ears. The flames slowly spread out from between the two men and engulfed both of them. The flames reached the other bomb that Krizzen had passed to Drago, and it ignited as well, creating another ball of flames. As both balls of flames passed Krizzen, cracks began to appear on Mjolnir from the explosion of the gunpowder, and eventually the fault lines expanded and merged, causing Mjolnir to shatter into a thousand pieces. Horror etched on Krizzen's face, he watched helplessly as his self-made weapon was destroyed before his eyes.

Hiccup watched all this with a satisfied smile on his face. He was glad that the war between Berk and Krizzen would be over. His life flashed before his eyes as the flames slowly engulfed him. Shooting down Toothless, killing the Red Death, the adventures they had on the Edge, their battles with Viggo, Krogan, Johann, Drago, Grimmel… But at that moment, none of that seemed to matter to him. The only thing he cared about was the fact that the war was over. It also didn't matter that… didn't matter that…

_It didn't matter that he was going to die. _

Time seemed to speed back up the moment he accepted that. The force of both explosions threw Drago, Rallen, and Krizzen against the rocky side of the volcano, directly under a rocky overhang. Their backs struck the face of the mountain with a loud thud. Already weakened from the huge explosion, the overhang collapsed onto the trio the moment they struck the rocky face of the mountain, burying them under a large pile of boulders, soil, and fallen trees.

The force of the explosion also threw the Berkian hero backwards at a high speed. Hiccup flew through the air, his limbs flailing around. He would have flown straight into the sea, but thankfully his path was stopped by a large tree. A loud thud could be heard as his body struck the tree behind him, forcing the wind out of his lungs. His head jerked backwards violently and struck the tree from the sudden stop, causing his vision to blur as stars appeared. He slid down and landed heavily on the ground, his legs outstretched and his hands limp by his side. His bandages had slipped off his face when he was flung backwards, and fresh blood was flowing from his deep gashes once again, but the raindrops landing on his face washed it off the moment it flowed from his gashes.

The explosion and impact took quite a number on him, and he struggled to stay conscious. But deep down he knew, he _just _knew, that there was no way out of it. He noticed it was getting significantly tougher to breathe, and he had to channel all his concentration and strength into breathing in enough air and staying conscious.

XX

A big orange ball of flames that emerged from around the corner was visible to all of them, especially against the dark night sky. A loud boom that echoed around the rainy sky followed immediately after. The dragon riders froze momentarily. _What was that?_ _That came from… _

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted. Leaning forward on Stormfly, she urged the Nadder forward. The dragon seemed to sense her urgency, and she flew at top speed to where Hiccup was. All the other riders followed suit, pressing their dragons to fly even faster.

Anxiety in her heart, she flew around the corners as fast as she could. Just another one and she would see what was the cause of that explosion. But when she rounded the corner, her heart sank and her jaw opened wide in shock.

On her right was a fallen cliff; a large hill of rocks and dirt lying by the side of the mountain. On her left was even worse.

Hiccup.

His head hung downwards limply as he leaned back on a tree, and both his hands seemed to lack any strength to hold themselves up at all. His leather tunic was burnt and singed in a few places, and blood mixed with rain flowed down his cheek and dropped off his chin onto the floor. Blood also poured out of the stab wound in his abdomen onto the ground, creating a large pool of blood on the ground.

She rushed over to her husband and jumped off Stormfly before she even came to a complete stop. Removing her helmet and kneeling down in front of his limp form, she placed a tentative hand on his cheek.

"Hiccup? Hiccup?" She called urgently, shaking his shoulder, but there was no response. She reached for his wrist and pulled it up, her nervous fingers searching desperately for a pulse. To her relief, she found one, but it was weak. _Very _weak.

"Ast… rid?" A small voice croaked, causing her to jerk her head back up towards Hiccup's face. He had raised his head slightly, and his typically warm forest green eyes carried a dazed and faraway look. He inhaled loudly and deeply, before exhaling loudly again.

"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed, relieved to see her husband alive. "What happened? We need to take you back to Berk now."

"No…" he whispered softly.

"What do you mean, no!?" Astrid replied, an enraged tone in her voice that stemmed from her nervousness. "We need to bring you back, Hiccup. We don't have the materials to save you here-"

"Ast…"

"-and the only one who has these things is back in Berk-"

"...rid…"

"-so I don't know what you're on about-"

"Astrid…?"

The soft plead in his voice finally caught her attention, and pulled her out of her rant. She looked back at Hiccup. That was when she really took a good look at him. His eyes were almost fully dilated. They focused on nothing in particular. Blood flowed out of his numerous wounds by the gallon. He coughed hard, and blood flew out of his mouth on every cough. His pulse was barely there. His chances of survival? She didn't want to admit it, but it was minimal to none.

"No, no, no," Astrid continued, tears beginning to flow out of her eyes. "You can't just give up like this, you have so much more to live for. _We_ have so much more to live for. I can't just let you die, Hiccup. I can't imagine a world without you in it…"

She was interrupted by Hiccup placing his hand just below her left shoulder. "I'm here…" he said painfully. He was crying heavily too, his tears falling onto her rain-soaked shoulders. Astrid looked at where he placed his hand, and then she noticed what he meant.

His hand was on her heart.

He will always be with her… in her heart.

"Please?" he whimpered, his voice cracking. A glimpse of a reassuring smile appeared on his face, and his eyes displayed its usual forest green warmth for a brief moment. The rain continued to fall on them, leaking off their frizzled hair and chins and dropping onto the wet rocky ground. A cold melancholy filled the atmosphere. The tear ducts could no longer contain themselves at that point, and the tears fell like waterfalls down both their cheeks.

Astrid looked at him for a moment, anxiety and sadness etched on her face. She flung herself forward and embraced him. Hiccup slowly moved both his hands behind her back and embraced her too.

"Dad!" Zephyr and Nuffink shouted as they rounded the corner with the other dragon riders. They rushed to his side, jumping off their dragons as well.

"Hey…" Hiccup whispered, raising a hand slowly and placing it behind Nuffink's head. Zephyr kneeled in front of him, frantically reaching into her saddlebag for supplies, but Hiccup reached for her with his other hand and placed it on her shoulder. She stopped what she was doing, and looked up to face her father. A warm smile on his face, his comforting emerald green eyes seemed to look right into her soul and warm her heart.

"It's… okay… dear…" Hiccup mumbled, before drawing in another sharp breath. Zephyr froze for a while more, tears flowing down her face. Suddenly, she dashed forward and hugged her father, Nuffink following her lead. Soon, the four Haddock family members were sharing a warm embrace.

All the other dragon riders dismounted too, and seeing the state of their leader and hearing his words, they removed their helmets respectfully.

He knew that it was time. Time to take his rightful place at the table of chiefs. He could feel it. It was getting harder and harder to focus, and simply staying conscious at this point took way more strength than it should. His speech began to slur, and breathing was more tiring. He figured that something damaged his lungs too, but at the moment, he couldn't really think about that. All he could think of was the fact that he had ended the war. He had stopped the war between Krizzen and the Berkians. The war that had claimed the lives of so many of his people. The war that had claimed the lives of his friends.

And he had given his life to do so. He didn't want to do so. He wanted to live a long life, watch Zephyr and Nuffink grow up and get married, see his grandchildren, and then die peacefully at a ripe old age. _But was it worth it?_ He asked himself. _Would I do this again if I had to?_

_Definitely_.

He inhaled deeply, and exhaled shakily. He could feel himself draining away. The edges of his vision was turning black. The comfort of having his friends with him, and his family around him, embracing him and being with him in his last moments made it a lot more endurable. He couldn't imagine how bad the pain would be if he was left to die alone. There was one thing that could make this a whole lot better, but sadly, that wasn't possible…

A Rebel came flying in from behind them, and he landed gently on the wet rocky ground. Hiccup didn't want to look at him, but a nagging at the back of his mind told him to do so. Unwillingly, he slowly turned to look at the Rebel. But when he did so, delight filled his green eyes. Because in his talons was…

"Tooth…!" Hiccup exclaimed with all his strength, but started coughing violently, hacking blood on the floor. His best friend was slumped on the floor, paws spread open wide. Although the way the Bewilderbeast decimated the cage earlier seemed that it would kill him, there was quite little damage done; nothing that can't be healed at least. One of his paws was broken at an awkward angle, and there was a small hole through one of his legs, probably from the tip of the Bewilderbeast's tusks. He had cuts and scratches all over him, but none of them seemed too deep. But his automated tail fin was completely broken. He would need a new one if he were to fly freely again.

When the injured Night Fury saw his rider lying slumped against a tree with blood pooled all around him, he struggled to his paws quickly and limped over to Hiccup. Zephyr and Nuffink moved aside, giving him enough space to reach Hiccup. Hiccup reached for Toothless cheerfully, petting his snout with his hand.

Toothless came closer and lay his snout across Hiccup's lap. Hiccup inhaled and exhaled loudly again. Toothless gave a concerned warble. Hiccup chuckled lightly. "I'm fine… bud…" But Toothless kept sniffing Hiccup. Eventually, he stopped sniffing and looked straight into Hiccup's eyes. Both their green eyes met in a knowing gaze. Toothless' sad eyes showed that he knew.

"You're… alpha…" Hiccup mumbled. He exhaled another shaky breath. Toothless lay his head back down on Hiccup's lap, and Hiccup petted his dragon on his snout.

His breaths became more and more laboured, and with each rise and fall of his chest everyone wondered if it would be his last. His eyes dilated even further, and soon his whole vision was blurred. He could no longer focus on anything, but vaguely he could see his wife coming closer to touch his face.

Gingerly, he raised his head to look in her direction. Look probably wasn't the right word; he couldn't see anything clearly anymore, and his vision was almost all black. To Astrid's surprise however, he had a faint smile on his face. Suddenly, the irresistible urge to kiss him came to her. Leaning forward, she planted a kiss straight onto Hiccup's lips. Hiccup was shocked by her suddenness, but he melted into the kiss. His eyes closed in satisfaction, and he wrapped his hand around her head. They shared a warm kiss, a kiss that told of how much they loved each other. A kiss that reminded them of years gone by.

A kiss that would tell of the years lost.

They broke apart, smiling at each other. Hiccup inhaled sharply. The kiss seemed to have taken all his breath away.

"Love… you…" he said, exhaling shakily. He drew in a deep breath, his chest rising, and exhaled loudly, his chest falling.

The faintest trace of a peaceful smile flashed across his face for the last time, and for a brief moment the light in his eyes glimmered one more time amidst the rain.

One more deep breath and his chest rose again, and he exhaled another shaky breath as his chest fell.

The light in his eyes faded away, replaced by hollow dilated pupils.

He inhaled again, and his chest rose.

And then he exhaled peacefully, and his chest fell and stilled, never to rise again.

Hiccup, the one who stopped the war between Vikings and dragons, the one who sought for peace between dragons and humanity, the one who bravely defended Berk from numerous attacks…

The one who had given his life for them all.

The cold, harsh rain bit down on all of them, drenching their already soaked clothes. A chill ran through their bodies as they watched their friend and leader slip away into eternity. Their salty tears mixed with the bitter rain and stained their faces.

Out of respect, Eret was the first to take a knee. Clutching his helmet by his chest, he kneeled down with his head bowed. The other riders all followed suit, bending down and getting onto one knee as a sign of respect for their fallen leader. They knew the weight of his sacrifice, and they would be eternally grateful for it.

Astrid clutched Hiccup's body close to her, weeping loudly into his shoulder. But his limp body didn't respond to anything she did. She kept weeping and weeping.

Toothless let out a long and mournful croon. He lost his best friend, and there was no consoling him for now. The sadness in his heart was clear for all to see. He let out yet another loud and sorrowful roar. No one tried to silence him. They all shared his pain.

The rain continued to beat down on them, creating a melancholic atmosphere. Thunder rumbled far away in the distance. For all of the Berkians, Berkian allies, and dragon riders, the tears kept falling. They had lost a great man, and he had died in the most noble way, and they knew without a doubt that his name would be celebrated all through Valhalla.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25.

The ride back to Berk was a solemn and gloomy one. No one really spoke much to each other, apart from the odd whisper now and then. Then again, no one really wanted to speak to each other. Witnessing something first hand is different from hearing about it. Sure, they heard of chiefs sacrificing themselves for their tribe; they heard of how Stoick sacrificed himself for Hiccup, but it was just that. They heard about it, and no doubt they respected him for it, but it was different from witnessing it for themselves. Over here, they all witnessed first hand how Hiccup sacrificed his life to end the war. They saw the explosion; who didn't? It was a bright flaming orange ball in the darkened sky, no one would miss that. And then when they all docked, they all saw the Haddock family around the bruised and battered body of their chief with all the dragon riders kneeling down. It didn't take long for anyone to understand what happened.

The Rebels and their mates had been willing to pull the Berkian, Berserker, and Outcast fleet back to Berk, and those sixteen massive dragons were able to take multiple ships each, so they had enough dragons to pull all the ships back. Most of the dragon riders rode on their respective dragons, not willing to add any additional weight on the ships. They too flew in silence. Where free flowing chatter would typically occupy their time as they flew, a sad silence permeated the air instead.

The rain continued to pour down from the grey night sky, soaking everything on the surface of the earth. The splashing of raindrops on the wet surfaces of the ships could be heard by everyone.

The former Berkian chief lay on the bow of the leading vessel. His body was covered with a white cloth, but it was also shrouded by a large black Night Fury. Toothless refused to leave his side the moment they laid him on the ship. Although thunder rumbled in the distance, he refused to budge. Nothing could convince him to leave his fallen rider's side. He was inconsolable. He would let out a mournful wail from time to time, and then he would lay his head back down in sorrow.

Below deck, Astrid sat alone on the bed in the chief's cabin. The muffled sounds of rain landing on the wooden deck above could be heard amidst her sniffles. Her eyes were red and puffy, and dried tear stains were visible on her cheeks. She lay down on their… her bed. She felt so alone. He was always there for her. Always. Sure, he went off for chiefly duties and other stuff, but she always knew that he would return. Even when they thought that he was dead earlier, she didn't quite believe it. There was this nagging feeling at the back of her head that he wasn't dead yet.

But now… fresh tears flowed down her cheeks just thinking about it. There was no avoiding the fact. No matter what she wanted to believe, no matter what she thought, the fact of the matter was there and plain for all to see. His body lay on the stern, and nothing they did could change that. The body of her beloved…

_Hiccup… _

She rolled onto her belly and sobbed into the furs lining the bed. Uncontrollable misery flowed out of her. She cried and cried, and nothing could console her.

The sun slowly rose from below the horizon. The grey clouds were gradually blown away by the light breeze. Berk was within their sights now. Eventually, the sun rose higher, and the rain stopped.

It was the first day that the sun rose without Hiccup in the world.

XX

"May the Valkyries welcome you, and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the heights of Valhalla... and know that you've taken your rightful place at the table of kings. For a great man has fallen. A great man…" Astrid paused, unable to continue the typical funeral rites. He deserved so much more. He _was_ so much more.

They were back on Berk. A large and grand funeral warship was chosen for Hiccup. His entire tribe was there in honour of the great chief. All of them stood on the plains where the dragons departed for the Hidden World all those years ago. They lined the entire cliff, almost every inch of green space had a Berkian standing there respectfully.

Not only was his entire tribe there, but Berk's closest allies too. The Berserkers and Outcasts who came along for the war stood along the coastline too. They knew his great sacrifice, and although they weren't Berkians, they respected him greatly.

Hovering in the air were all the dragons. Their wings beat softly, keeping the air relatively still. They too maintained a posture of respect. None of them made any noise apart from the soft beating of wings, and they didn't budge from their spots.

Near the front were all of his closest friends. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Heather, Dagur, and their dragons; the only dragons that weren't hovering in the sky. The group that lived on the Edge and had so many adventures together. The group that had been through the highs and lows together. The group that he would've given his life for at any time.

And right at the edge of the cliff was the Haddock family. Astrid, Valka, Zephyr, Nuffink, and of course Toothless. The ones that made his life complete. The ones that he loved with all his heart.

The ones that would be the first to shoot their pitch-dipped arrows.

He had impacted so many lives, changed so many things for the better. He had improved so many things, made everyone's lives better, and cared for everyone as he would for his very own.

And it was for all of them that he sacrificed his life.

Did he deserve more than this? Perhaps. Did he deserve to be rewarded greatly for his constant kindness, helpfulness, and love? Perhaps.

But did they all deserve him? No. They had mistreated him in his first fifteen years, cast him aside, bullied him, scorned him, just because he didn't look like a proper Viking. But he was just as stubborn as one. He never gave up trying to impress them, to prove himself, and only when he did then did people begin to pay him any mind.

And it was for these people that he sacrificed himself. Truly, something only a great man would do.

"A great man," Astrid continued. "That none of us deserved. A great man that endured all our ridicule and yet gave his life for us.

"None of us deserved your sacrifice. None of us. But you did so anyways. Your selflessness never fails to amaze us all.

"But it's exactly this that we all love you for. You always put us all before yourself. You always want the best for us and none of it for yourself. You always took care of us even when you weren't feeling well yourself. And…

"You let us all live even if you couldn't do so yourself. We stand here in peace because of you. Peace for us, peace for the dragons. We enjoy peace because you fought the Red Death, you fought the dragon hunters, you made allies, and you fought off Krizzen, but your life was the price.

"Now the world has to live without you. The world has to live with one less great man. For a great man has fallen. A warrior. A chieftain. A father. A friend. A husband…

"A hero."

With that, Astrid released the string of her bow. The flaming arrow flew through the evening sky, lighting up its path as it flew. It landed squarely in the centre of the vessel and lit up the deck. Zephyr, Nuffink, and Valka followed soon after, firing their own arrows that added to the flame on the boat. The last ones to fire were the dragon riders. Their arrows flew through the grey sky and lit up the remaining parts of the ship that weren't on fire yet, and soon the ship was in flames. The flames consumed everything on the ship, masts and all, and after a while, the only thing they could see was a ball of flames on the surface of the sea.

Upon seeing this, Toothless let out a loud roar, and the grounded dragons moved forward to the edge of the cliff. Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Stormfly, Windshear, Shattermaster, Sleuther, Cloudjumper, Skullcrusher, and Toothless stood in a line by the side of the grassy plains. The dragons, apart from Toothless, prepared fire in their mouths, and they fired at the vessel simultaneously. Their shots splintered the flaming ship, sending flaming planks and other wooden pieces flying all over the place. But there was a final piece of the vessel left.

Charging up plasma in his mouth, Toothless was the last to fire. The purple plasma blast flew through the air and struck the remaining piece of the vessel. The vessel broke into pieces, and flaming planks flew all over the place. The sea was scattered with small planks that were still on fire, and soon these planks sank under the blue water and the flames extinguished, turning the sky back to its original grey colour.

Everyone watched as the final few planks sank underwater and disappeared. It was over. Their ally, their chief, their leader, their friend was dead and a grand funeral was held for him. Slowly, the people began to shuffle out of the grassy plains and back towards the village.

Eventually, the whole place had cleared out, apart from the Haddock family. They couldn't tear their eyes away from the sea. It was over. They still couldn't believe it. How could Hiccup, the one who survived everything be dead? It all happened so fast too. Just a month or two ago they were living so peacefully. Then he was captured, tortured, and presumed dead. After that, he returned and led them to the battle at the Hidden World. When that failed, he led them into this battle and had died to win the war. It all happened so fast.

A gentle hand on Astrid's shoulders jerked her out of her thoughts. "Let's go home, dear, it's getting late," Valka said gently. Astrid took one last look at the sea and nodded. She turned around and began to walk back to the Haddock home with her children behind her.

XX

Her house has never felt so empty. She was usually the one who reached home first, but it wouldn't be too long before Hiccup came in too. But this time, she knew that it would never happen again. She would enter the house in the evening after a long day of training, and go about her business of relaxing and preparing dinner, but instead of cooking for four, she would cook for three instead. She wouldn't wake up to the sweet smell of a savoury breakfast being prepared by her husband before he left for his chiefly duties. No.

The routine of life was broken, and in a very cruel way.

Without noticing, she found herself wandering over to Hiccup's old tinkering table. Well, that's what she called it. He would put all his notes and diagrams and whatnot all over the place, in drawers, pinned on the backboard, or sometimes just strewn all over the table. It was always in a mess that she had told him that she would never try to tidy up that table. It suited him just fine. He seemed to be able to find anything easily despite the table looking like a hurricane had hit it multiple times.

But now, he was no longer here to magically find something. Idly, she began to sieve through his stuff. There were many diagrams and notes on the table. New inventions such as a better way to move through the village, better machines to load up ships, and even a new design for his prosthetic. There were sketches of various things. Sketches of herself, sketches of Zephyr and Nuffink, sketches of Toothless and his dragon family, and the one sketch that broke her heart was a sketch of all four of them in a close embrace. It surprised her how lifelike the sketch was, as though they had actually posed for the drawing. A tear slipped through her eye as she realised that this was no longer a possibility.

As she lifted another diagram though, she stumbled across a few pieces of paper that had many words on it. She knew it wasn't her duty to pry, but something compelled her to take a look. Picking up the paper, she began to read it.

But when she began to read the paper, she was shocked. She cupped her mouth with her free hand as tears began to flow from her eyes. Stepping backwards, she sat down on the bed and continued reading.

It was a letter from Hiccup addressed to her.

_To my beloved and dearest Astrid,_

_If you're reading this, I'm probably dead. I'm writing this on the night we're leaving to go to war with Krizzen. I placed this in the spot I think you're most likely to look through when you return. And if you're reading this right now, I guess I'm right. _

_Remember when I told you I had a bad feeling about this fight? I couldn't shake the bad feeling no matter what I tried. So I had to write this down just so I can get this off my chest. If you don't want to continue reading it's alright with me, I fully understand. But nonetheless I hope you would still read what I have to say. _

_My father told me before that with love comes loss. It'll hurt, but the feeling of having been loved and loved before greatly surpasses the feeling of loss. This came to my mind when we were sending the dragons off to the Hidden World, and as I'm writing this it came to my mind again. _

_I don't want to die, Astrid. I want to grow old with you, live a great life with you, watch our children grow up and get married, play with our grandchildren. I really don't want to die. _

_But I'm comforted by you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. The day when we became a couple, it was the happiest day of my life. I thought it couldn't get any better, until the day of our marriage came, and I felt even happier. Your love was the best gift I have ever received, and I don't think I've said thank you to you enough. Your love is what got me through the toughest days and kept me going. Your love is what made me continuously seek for a better solution to anything. _

_And it's because of your love that I'm comforted in the thought of dying. With love comes loss. The dread of not being able to live out the rest of my life with you is there, but having been married to you for the last twenty years of my life and loving you for even more is worth it all. I just hope you feel the same. I don't want you to feel too upset about my passing. The sun will always rise after the night. The dark clouds will always clear after a thunderstorm. And the stars can always be seen after a black Night Fury passes it. Trust me, that's how I shot Toothless down. _

_What I'm saying is, things will get better. And even if they don't seem so, please stay strong. Do this for me. Stay strong for me. Our children need us, and without me around they're going to need a mother who's by their side even more. Play with our grandchildren, tell them stories of how dragons were our friends. Maybe even bring them to see Toothless. _

_Don't give up, milady. I'll always be with you. Not in person, but in your heart. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid, whatever you want it to mean. _

_All my love,_

_Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III_

A small smile cracked on Astrid's face as she sniffled. She sat on the bed in tears, reading and rereading what Hiccup wrote. She processed every single word, letting them sink into her soul.

_With love comes loss. _

The pain of losing her greatest friend and lover definitely hurt, but would she give up the last twenty-five years or so of loving Hiccup if it meant getting rid of this pain?

Never. She would pick his love any time.

_There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid, whatever you want it to mean. _

There was truth to what he was saying. Hiccup would always be in her heart. Even though he was gone, he would continue to live in her heart, and the thought of this comforted her. Sure, it would be a tough few years coping with his death, but things would get better. It will be a painful time no doubt, but she would get over this and stay strong for her children and grandchildren.

_Do this for me. _

_I will, Hiccup. I will. _

**A/N: Two more epilogues, which I'll probably upload together, then the story is done! How did y'all find it? If you didn't notice, the whole plot was very loosely based on the Infinity War/Endgame story line (Krizzen beats Hiccup, Hiccup comes back and wins). Fun fact: It took me at least five hours of thinking just to find a way for Hiccup to die heroically. So many stories have a meaningless death (eg: Hiccup wins, but out of revenge the villain stabs him before dying). I wanted to come up with something new, where if it wasn't for Hiccup doing what he did, there wouldn't be any way that the Berkians would've won. I think I managed to come up with one, thoughts? **

**Reviews:**

**Blackberry: I admit, it was quite drawn out. I had the whole scene visualised in my head, but I didn't think writing it would take as many words as it did. **

**CalvinFuji: Regarding your mass genocide question, I'd like to believe Krizzen's character would scare the world into submission. He would try the peaceful way first, but if that fails, he would use ruthless tactics. Remember how he treated Hiccup? He tried to win him over at first, but when it didn't work, he began to torture Hiccup. Also, Krizzen's a smart guy. He would listen if it's logical. **

**Dargur: Fun fact: In my initial story outline, I planned for both Hiccup and Toothless to die heroically together, and they have a touching reunion in Valhalla. But I couldn't bear to do it to Toothless. He's too cute **


	26. Epilogue 1

Epilogue 1

_*3 years later*_

Berk had entered its third year without its dragon-loving chief, and things had slowly picked up. The whole tribe seemed to be in mourning for a month or so after Hiccup's passing. No one really had any urge or motivation to do work, and while jobs did get done, there wasn't any life in the villagers. It wasn't until Zephyr, the new chief of Berk, had put her foot down and told them off then they began to realise how wrong they were. She had told them how Hiccup wouldn't have wanted this; he would have wanted them to move on and continue with their lives as though nothing had happened, because he always placed the needs of the tribe above his own. She gave a rousing speech about how Hiccup had sacrificed himself for the tribe to live in peace, and if they continued to live like "a bunch of yak-brained idiots" who couldn't do more than what they were told to do because one incident held them back, Hiccup would've been greatly disappointed. She said that if he was watching them living like this from Valhalla, he would've regretted his sacrifice.

That was their wake up call. All the villagers turned a new leaf after that. They worked doubly hard, not just for themselves or their tribe, but for Hiccup. They wouldn't want to ruin his legacy.

They also saw Hiccup in Zephyr. The way she ran the tribe, the way she dealt with people's problems and other chiefly duties was reminiscent of Hiccup. Many of them could even imagine Hiccup doing the exact same thing. It was because of this that she slowly gained the respect and admiration of the tribe.

So when she asked them to construct a statue of Hiccup in the centre of the village, everyone was eager to volunteer. Partially because it was Hiccup that they were honouring, and partially because she was their chief and they were _that _willing to do whatever she asked. When the statue was completed a mere two months later, everyone was pleased at the outcome.

Statue Hiccup stood tall and proud, with his eyes looking determinedly towards the sea. He was in his leather vest, and his left hand, outstretched towards the sea in front of him, held Inferno; the tip of the sword pointing towards the sea and the static flames frozen in place. His right hand was straightened by his side, clutching a bunch of papers that was in memory of all his great inventions. _In honour of the great Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, who sacrificed himself for our peace_, the inscription below the statue wrote.

And of course, no statue would be complete without a particular statue reptile too. By his side was his ever faithful dragon. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. The one who started the whole 'living in harmony' thing between Vikings and dragons. Toothless. The Night Fury stood on all fours by his side, looking determinedly towards the same direction that Hiccup was looking to. He had his saddle on him, and his false tailfin that Hiccup had constructed and improved many times. The statue was so lifelike that anyone could easily imagine Hiccup and Toothless standing in that exact position, ready for a battle against any poor enemy who chose to mess with them.

Speaking of the dragons, the alpha Toothless decided to head back to the Hidden World. The dragons lingered on Berk for a week or two, particularly because Toothless needed a new automated tailfin and time to recover from his injuries (and of course, the pain of losing his beloved rider). Hiccup had taught Nuffink how to smith as he grew older, and so Nuffink had dug up his old sketches for the automated tailfin and constructed one for Toothless. Then, on one fine evening, they all gathered at the same place where Hiccup had sent them off all those years ago. With the Berkians looking at their beloved dragons, Toothless gave one mighty roar and they all took flight, heading to the Hidden World indefinitely, or rather, when Toothless determined that it was safe for them to return. However long that may be, no one knew, but they all knew to trust his judgment. After all, he was the first dragon to start all… this. It may be the last time that anyone saw another dragon for all they knew. But if someone happened to find themselves on the old island of Berk on the day that a certain green-eyed man died, they would be able to hear wailing from a particular cove.

With Toothless and Stormfly gone, Astrid slunk back into herself for a while. The riders began to notice this during their monthly meetup-around-the-campfire, where the old dragon riding team would… well, meetup around a campfire. Everyone was quiet during the first few meetups, that was to be expected, but she was extra quiet. When anyone asked her a question, regardless of the topic, she would give a half-hearted response and look back at the floor, her eyes filled with sadness. And honestly, who can blame her for feeling like this? Two of her closest friends, her dragon and her beloved, had reappeared into her life and left, all within the span of a month. It was too quick for her to process what had happened. Toothless' presence provided her with some comfort while he was there, because it was like a piece of Hiccup still stayed in their house, although this piece of Hiccup had four legs and ate a lot of fish.

But when he left, the last piece of the scrawny teen that grew into the leader at the Edge and eventually became the chief of the whole village seemed to leave too. The dragon riding team began to grow worried for her, and with the help of her two children, they prepared a surprise for her.

Little did they know that they were the ones in for the surprise. When they visited her at the Haddock house one day with the surprise planned, they found the house empty. With a little searching, they found her at the grassy plain where Hiccup's funeral was held. She was looking out to sea, her back facing all of them. When they came nearer, they saw what she was holding, and from that point onwards they knew that she would be doing just fine.

She was holding Hiccup's betrothal gift to her. The gift that signified a promise between them, a life shared together. All the ups and downs, and the not-so-ups and not-so-downs. All the joys and pains they had together as a loving couple. And her promise to Hiccup that she would be strong. She told them about Hiccup's final letter to her, and they listened with tears in their eyes. Well, Fishlegs was bawling, and Snotlout was trying to hide his tears. The twins were… well, being the twins. Heather was the one who came to her and comforted her. When her children came to her, she held them in a tight embrace and promised to be with them through it all. They were a family, and they would grieve. But they would come out of this together, and stay strong for each other.

XX

It was because of this promise that Astrid found herself outside the Jorgenson home this day. Smitelout and Zephyr had married about a year after Hiccup's passing, and now Zephyr was in labour. Astrid had said that she never wanted to be near Zephyr when she was in labour, because she wouldn't be able to take her screams of pain without wanting to rush in and fling an axe at someone, but because of her promise that they would stay together through it all, she had dutifully left her axe at home and waited patiently outside Smitelout and Zephyr's home. The screams came occasionally, and she did her best to control herself. But when the screams stopped and everything stilled inside, she knew that it was all over.

"Come in!" A cheerful Valka announced as she opened the door. Astrid rushed in, along with Nuffink and Erica. Yes, the two of them became a thing, and Hiccup would've been pleased to see that his prediction came true after all.

The three of them took the stairs to the loft two at a time, eager to see the latest addition to their family. When they entered the room, the most beautiful sight met their eyes.

Well, it was beautiful to Astrid. Nuffink couldn't really see the beauty in a tiny baby that was still being cleaned up with a damp cloth, but he was too polite to say so. The little baby was being held by Zephyr as she lay in the bed, and Smitelout sat in a chair beside the bed, an arm draped around his wife as he peered at their little kid.

"It's a boy," Smitelout announced as they entered. He was smiling from ear to ear, and Zephyr had the same grin on her face too.

"That's great!" Astrid exclaimed. "What's his name?"

The couple looked at Astrid concernedly for a second, and then they turned to look at each other knowingly. Zephyr looked at Smitelout anxiously, but he nodded and her fear seemed to dissipate. She turned back to look at her mother, and clearing her throat, she began to speak.

"Mom, we all know that it's been tough for you ever since Dad… well… passed on. And-and I know you two have this special loving bond because you two knew each other ever since you were young."

Astrid smiled. It was true, they knew each other really well, and they had a very close friendship for many years before they even became a couple.

"I know you also have this promise with him that… that there will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. So," Zephyr held out the little baby boy for Astrid to hold with both her hands. Zephyr looked into her mother's eyes, and smiled widely. Her eyes showed her happiness and exuberance, and Astrid couldn't help but wonder what she had planned.

"Meet Hiccup."

Astrid was taken aback. She stood in her spot, her mouth agape. Smitelout and Zephyr smiled at her sweetly and warmly, and waited patiently for her to hold the little baby. Slowly, Astrid walked over to the bed and cradled him close to her chest. He felt so warm against her chest. He had a little tuft of auburn hair, and when he looked up at Astrid, his eyes sparkled with a lovely emerald green colour, before he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep. Astrid's eyes brimmed with tears of joy.

"Hey there, little guy," Astrid said lovingly to the small bundle of joy in her arms. The tears of joy began to seep out of her eyes and flow down her cheeks. She choked on her tears for a moment, and then she continued to speak to the newborn baby. "You're gonna be so great, just like your grandfather. I know it, little one. I feel it."

The little baby squirmed in her arms, and then he cried loudly. His voice was loud and powerful. He cried for a moment, but then quieted down after some cooing from Astrid. He turned over onto his side and he went back to sleep. Astrid watched the baby with pride and delight in her eyes. Tears still rimmed around her eyes, but she ignored them. The joy that she was feeling was just too great.

"You have a strong voice," Astrid said softly. "You will grow up to be an amazing leader. Your grandfather would be proud of you. I will be too. Your father and mother love you dearly. We all love you.

"I love you, Hiccup."

_I can't imagine a world without you in it, Hiccup. _

_There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid, whatever you want it to mean. _

**A/N: Epilogue 2 will come tomorrow!**

**JustANormalHTTYDFan: Yes, Toothless is resistant as hell. I hope you like how I portrayed Toothless at the ending. **

**Blackberry: Thank you!**

**CalvinFuji: Personally, timeskips have been overdone for me. I think this epilogue is much better than a timeskip, what do you think? I can assure you though, this isn't the start of a new tale. I've run out of ideas for this universe. I do have another story coming though, but I've just started writing it, so it'll be a while before I upload any part of it. I'll give more details in the final epilogue.**

**RicoRodriguez: The idea of a heroic death has always appealed to me, but I haven't seen enough stories about it. Honestly, which other character is likely to do this besides Hiccup? I figured if anyone were to do this, it would most likely be him. **


	27. Epilogue 2

Epilogue 2

**Reviews: **

**JustANormalHTTYDFan: I didn't include the dragons much in the epilogue, mainly because there wouldn't be too much to write about them. I think epilogue 1 covers it enough. I really can't think of enough content to cover a whole epilogue for just the dragons. **

**A/N: Thank you for reading the story until here! This is the last chapter of the story. How did you find it? Any room for improvement? Please review. **

**I have another story coming up too, but I just started writing it, so it might be a few more months before the first chapter comes up. I like to pre-write a few chapters so I can ensure I have a fully written chapter for each week. The main character of the upcoming story will be an OC though. Hiccup and the dragon riders will be involved in it, but there wouldn't be as much of them as you might like. Their first appearance might be in chapter 3 or 4 or later even. It's a new concept I'm working with, and I'm quite excited to see how it turns out. Anyway, without further ado, here's the last chapter in the story. **

Epilogue 2

Light slowly filtered through his shut eyelids. Instinctively, he raised a hand to block out the light. Slowly, he opened his eyes, squinting against the light as he did so. He sat up and began to look around. He was on a soft, grassy plain, with gentle hills around him and a lovely pond by his side.

_Where am I? _He thought to himself. He idly rustled his hands through the soft grass, enjoying the feel of the cool blades against his skin. The cool wind blew through his hair, rustling his messy auburn mop.

_How did I get here?_ He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember what was happening. The wind blew against his face, taking away all his worries and anxieties. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the feeling of the cooling wind against his body.

_Inhaling… why is that so familiar… _Suddenly, as though a torch was suddenly lit in his brain, he recalled everything. He remembered all the things he said, all the feelings he was feeling, all the…

"Son?" A deep, husky voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He slowly turned to face the direction of the voice. When he saw who it was, his face lit up in delight. He would never fail to recognise the vast figure that stood ahead of him, the thick auburn braided beard and moustache, and the loving black eyes that revealed so much more than he said.

"Dad?" He said hesitantly, unsure of whether to believe his eyes or not. There was a moment of hesitation, before the two of them ran towards each other and embraced warmly. Happiness and joy flowed through each other as they were finally reunited again after so many years apart.

"It's so good to finally see you again, Hiccup." Stoick said as he continued to hold Hiccup. Eventually, the pair broke apart, smiling widely as they continued to look at each other.

However, a moment later, Hiccup's head dipped down and his eyes flashed with remorse. "Dad," he began hesitantly. "I'm-I'm sorry."

Stoick was confused. "Sorry for what, Hiccup?"

Hiccup continued to look down, unwilling to look up at his father. "I'm sorry for not being a great chief, Dad. I let so many people die. I led them wildly into battle and- and so many died there. I gave up information to stop myself from being tortured, and got Gobber killed because of me. I-I-"

"Hiccup, stop," Stoick said in a firm but gentle voice. Hiccup stopped his rambling and looked up at his father. His face did not show disappointment or anger, but rather pride and joy. "We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard."

"Don't blame yerself, lad," a nasally voice sounded from the side, interrupting Stoick. Hiccup turned to look at the source of the voice. He beamed from ear to ear when he saw who it was.

"Gobber!" Hiccup exclaimed loudly, and ran over to hug his mentor. Gobber returned the embrace.

"It's good to see yer too, laddie," he said.

As the two broke apart, Hiccup suddenly noticed something different. "Gobber, you-you…"

"What is it?" Gobber asked.

"You have all four limbs," Hiccup said.

Gobber laughed loudly, surprising Hiccup. "Of course I do, laddie, we're in Valhalla!"

Hiccup seemed shocked at this revelation. "We-we are?" He asked, confused.

"Well, yer definitely couldn'ta ended up in Helheim after _that_, could ya? This lad's a wee bit slow, eh Stoick?" Gobber teased, nudging Stoick with his elbow and chuckling.

Stoick chuckled with his friend for a while, much to Hiccup's embarrassment. "Really feeling the love," Hiccup said sarcastically, raising his hands dramatically and rolling his eyes.

"I've gotta head back now," Gobber said when he stopped chuckling. "Tha' hall has me favourite mead." With a wave, he turned around and walked back the way he came. Hiccup watched as his former mentor walked smoothly back down along the smooth grassy plain.

"Hiccup," Stoick said when Gobber had left. "You were a great chief. You led them really well. I saw it all. From the time that I died until the time… well, you know." He gestured at Hiccup with both of his hands. Hiccup rolled his eyes dramatically. "You were the best chief Berk could ask for. You ended the war with the dragons and gave them peace for twenty whole years. That's twenty more than I ever did." Stoick chuckled. "You've led them really well the whole time."

"But," Hiccup said apprehensively. "I caused the war with Krizzen. I caused the deaths of some of them."

"But you gave your life for their peace. The peace which they enjoy now," Stoick said comfortingly. "You did something really noble, son, and I couldn't be prouder."

Hiccup seemed to be shocked by what his father said. "You-you're proud? Not disappointed?"

"Of course not," Stoick said. "You died for them. Why would I be disappointed in you? Come now, let me take you to your rightful place at the table of chiefs."

Hiccup smiled. He always wanted peace on Berk, and if the price was his life, then so be it. He looked back down at his people. They were living happy lives again. Fisherman going to fish in peace, traders reaching Berkian waters safely and soundly, the little children running around without a worry. Merchants setting up stores without having to worry about dragon attacks, warriors training the younger generation without any imminent war. No fear of enemies, no fear of war. It gave him great joy to see this sight.

Turning back around, he walked towards his father, the chief of Berk who gave his life for his son, who in turn had given his life for his tribe. They were both great in their own rights, and both thoroughly deserve their places at the table of chiefs. Stoick clasped a hand around Hiccup's shoulder, and together, the two great chiefs walked together into eternity, where they would spend their time at the table of chiefs, feasting and dining like the great chiefs they were.

**THE END**


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